hunt

/hʌnt/

//hʌnt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hunt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hunt” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,065. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,065
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To find or search for an animal in the wild with the intention of killing the animal for its meat or for sport.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hunt · hunt · English

hunt · rank #3,065 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,065
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH historic

Nearest frequency peer: historic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hunt”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hunt” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hunt vs hut
75% similar
hunt vs Hur
25% similar
hunt vs Hus
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hunt
PropertyValue
Headwordhunt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/hʌnt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,065
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hunt”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).huntlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “historic” (#3,064), “improvement” (#3,066), “highway” (#3,063). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hunt” is #3,065. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around hunt (IPA /hʌnt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,065 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hunt, with forms such as "hhunt", "hnut", and "hunnt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hut", "Hur", "Hus", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian (“to hunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *huntōn (“to hunt, capture”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to catch, seize”). Related to Old High German hunda (“booty”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (hunþs, “bod… The correct English form is hunt, spelled H-U-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To find or search for an animal in the wild with the intention of killing the animal for its meat or for sport.
  2. 2
    To try to find something; search (for).
  3. 3
    To drive; to chase; with down, from, away, etc.
  4. 4
    To use or manage (dogs, horses, etc.) in hunting.
  5. 5
    To use or traverse in pursuit of game.
  6. 6
    To move or shift the order of (a bell) in a regular course of changes.
  7. 7
    To shift up and down in order regularly.
  8. 8
    To be in a state of instability of movement or forced oscillation, as a governor which has a large movement of the balls for small change of load, an arc-lamp clutch mechanism which moves rapidly up and down with variations of current, etc.; also, to seesaw, as a pair of alternators working in parallel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hunt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. State Wildlife Management areas often offer licensed hunters the opportunity to hunt on public lands.
  2. Her uncle will go out and hunt for deer, now that it is open season.

Etymology

From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian (“to hunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *huntōn (“to hunt, capture”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to catch, seize”). Related to Old High German hunda (“booty”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (hunþs, “body of captives”), Old English hūþ (“plunder, booty, prey”), Old English hentan (“to catch, seize”). More at hent, hint. In some areas read as a collective form of hound by folk etymology.

This word in other languages

cazar(Español)chasser(Français)jagen(Deutsch)caçar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhunt
  • hnut
  • hunnt
  • huntt
  • hutn
  • uhnt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hunt - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhunt1hnut2hunnt1huntt1hutn2uhnt2
Edit distance from "hunt"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hunt"?
"hunt" is spelled H-U-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /hʌnt/.
What does "hunt" mean?
As a verb, "hunt" means: To find or search for an animal in the wild with the intention of killing the animal for its meat or for sport.
What words are commonly confused with "hunt"?
"hunt" is commonly confused with "hut", "Hur", "Hus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hunt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hunt" is /hʌnt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hunt"?
From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian (“to hunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *huntōn (“to hunt, capture”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to catch, seize”). Related to Old High German hunda (“booty”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (h... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hunt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inch#3,067jury#3,070Kong#3,071eric#3,055

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

smell6 variantsbush6 variantsvast6 variantssons6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list