hound
Other forms: hounds; hounded; hounding
A hound is a type of dog with big floppy ears, mainly used for hunting. To hound someone is to relentlessly pursue or pester them. When Elvis sings, “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog,” he’s referring to both.
Hounds are dogs that have traditionally been used for hunting because they are excellent at tracking. Most hounds (like beagles and dachshunds) have drooping, floppy ears. Hounds can also be big and scary like the one Sherlock Holmes investigates in The Hound of the Baskervilles. If people hound, they hunt, too, but just in an annoying way. A man can hound a woman by asking for a date 10 times. A hounding person is persistent and probably annoying.
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any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping earssynonyms: hound dogtypes:beaglea small short-legged smooth-coated breed of houndbloodhound, sleuthhounda large, powerful dog breed often used in tracking due to its acute sense of smellblueticka very fast American hound; white mottled with bluish greyboarhoundlarge hound used in hunting wild boarscoonhoundany of several breeds of hound developed for hunting raccoonsfoxhoundmedium-sized glossy-coated hounds developed for hunting foxesharriera hound that resembles a foxhound but is smaller; used to hunt rabbitsPlott hounda brindle-coated American hound used in hunting bears and wild boarsredbonea speedy red or red-and-tan American houndwolfhoundthe largest breed of dogs; formerly used to hunt wolvesgreyhounda tall slender dog of an ancient breed noted for swiftness and keen sight; used as a racing dogIbizan Podenco, Ibizan houndbreed of slender agile medium-sized hound found chiefly in the Balearic Islands; said to have been bred originally by the Pharaohs of ancient EgyptNorwegian elkhound, elkhoundbreed of compact medium-sized dog with a heavy grey coat developed in Norway for hunting elkotter hound, otterhoundhardy British hound having long pendulous ears and a thick coarse shaggy coat with an oily undercoat; bred for hunting ottersSaluki, gazelle houndold breed of tall swift keen-eyed hunting dogs resembling greyhounds; from Egypt and southwestern AsiaScottish deerhound, deerhoundvery large and tall rough-coated dog bred for hunting deer; known as the royal dog of Scotlandstaghounda large heavy hound formerly used in hunting stags and other large game; similar to but larger than a foxhoundWeimaranerlarge breed of hound having a smooth greyish coat; originated in Germanycoondogany dog trained to hunt raccoonsblack-and-tan coonhoundAmerican breed of large powerful hound dogs used for hunting raccoons and other gameAmerican foxhoundan American breed of foxhounds used for hunting both in packs and individuallyEnglish foxhoundan English breed slightly larger than the American foxhounds originally used to hunt in packsIrish wolfhoundlarge breed of hound with a rough thick coatItalian greyhounda toy dog developed from the greyhoundwhippetsmall slender dog of greyhound type developed in Englandtype of:hunting doga dog used in hunting game
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pursue or chase relentlessly
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someone who is morally reprehensible
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Vocabulary lists containing hound
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This Newbery Medal-winning novel tells the story of a boy's efforts to protect a beloved dog from abuse.
