Basic+ Word of the Day: haunt

haunt (verb) past tense: haunted

Haunt means ‘to visit frequently.’

• The ghost of the evil woman haunted the castle.
• Tom and his friends haunt the bars in that neighborhood every weekend.

Haunt also means ‘to distress frequently.’

• Memories of my youth haunt me to this day.
• The politician's early speeches haunted him during the election campaign.

Don't confuse it with

hunt: to chase and often kill wild animals. Example: “Many people hunt deer in the autumn.”

In pop culture

Steven Spielberg’s 1982 movie Poltergeist is about a haunted house. Watch the trailer, if you dare:

There are other meanings of haunt.