quest

/kwɛst/

/kwɛst/

Other forms: questing; quests; quested

A quest is all about seeking something important, and it often involves a journey. You would travel the world in a quest for gold. You would not travel to the front of the lunchroom in a quest for tater tots.

Knights in the Middle Ages were forever taking on quests––most famously to find the Holy Grail. In modern times, you can quest without ever leaving home, thanks to the Internet. A scientist might embark on a quest to find the cure for cancer. A detective might quest for the truth.

Definitions of quest

1. noun

   the act of searching for something
   “a quest for diamonds”

   synonyms: seeking

   type of:

   hunt, hunting, search

   the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone
2. noun

   a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
   “a quest for wealth”

   synonyms: pursuance, pursuit

   types:

   wild-goose chase

   the fruitless pursuit of something unattainable

   type of:

   search

   the examination of alternative hypotheses
3. verb

   make a search (for)
   “Things that die with their eyes open and questing”

   “The animal came questing through the forest”

   type of:

   seek

   try to get or reach
4. verb

   search the trail of (game)
   “The dog went off and quested”

   type of:

   chase, chase after, dog, give chase, go after, tag, tail, track, trail

   go after with the intent to catch
5. verb

   seek alms, as for religious purposes
   type of:

   beg, solicit, tap

   make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently
6. verb

   express the need or desire for; ask for
   synonyms: bespeak, call for, request

   call for, invite

   request the participation or presence of

   types:

   order

   make a request for something

   ask

   make a request or demand for something to somebody

   encore

   request an encore, from a performer

   petition

   write a petition for something to somebody; request formally and in writing

   demand

   request urgently and forcefully

   appeal, invoke

   request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection

   supplicate

   ask for humbly or earnestly, as in prayer

   apply

   ask (for something)

   beg, solicit, tap

   make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently

   reserve

   obtain or arrange (for oneself) in advance

   challenge

   ask for identification

   beg off, excuse

   ask for permission to be released from an engagement

   demand

   ask to be informed of

   claim

   ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example

   call for, invite

   request the participation or presence of

   ask in, invite

   ask to enter

   desire

   express a desire for

   beg

   ask to obtain free

   arrogate, claim, lay claim

   demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to

   ask over, ask round, invite

   invite someone to one's house

   call

   call a meeting; invite or command to meet

   ask out, invite out, take out

   make a date

   book, hold, reserve

   arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance

   want

   wish or demand the presence of

   reorder

   make a new request to be supplied with

   place

   to arrange for

   request

   ask (a person) to do something

   solicit

   make a solicitation or petition for something desired

   call

   order or request or give a command for

   ask, expect, require

   consider obligatory; request and expect

   supplicate

   make a humble, earnest petition

   plead

   appeal or request earnestly

   clamor, clamour

   make loud demands

   call on, turn

   have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to

   book up

   book all available places or tickets

   dun

   persistently ask for overdue payment

   wish

   order politely; express a wish for

   demand, exact

   claim as due or just

   counterclaim

   set up a claim in opposition to a previous claim

   ask

   require or ask for as a price or condition

   demand

   lay legal claim to

   put in, submit

   make an application as for a job or funding

   call in

   summon to enter

   cadge, schnorr, scrounge, shnorr

   obtain or seek to obtain by cadging or wheedling

   panhandle

   beg by accosting people in the street and asking for money

   pretend

   put forward a claim and assert right or possession of

   requisition

   demand and take for use or service, especially by military or public authority for public service

   arrogate, assign

   make undue claims to having

   hold open, keep, keep open, save

   retain rights to

   canvass

   solicit votes from potential voters in an electoral campaign

   buttonhole, lobby

   detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the outer garments of; as for political or economic favors

   commission

   place an order for

   type of:

   communicate, pass, pass along, pass on, put across

   transmit information
7. verb

   bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
   synonyms: bay

   type of:

   bark

   make barking sounds