haunted; haunting; haunts
1
a
: to visit often : frequent
spends a lot of time haunting bookstores
b
: to continually seek the company of
haunting celebrities
impostors that haunt the official in foreign ports—
Van Wyck Brooks
Van Wyck Brooks2
a
: to have a disquieting or harmful effect on : trouble
problems we ignore now will come back to haunt us
b
: to recur constantly and spontaneously to
the tune haunted her
c
: to reappear continually in
a sense of tension that haunts his writing
3
: to visit or inhabit as a ghost
believed that the house was haunted
Spirits are supposed to haunt the places where their bodies most resorted …—Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens1
: to stay around or persist : linger
a haunting fragrance
2
: to appear habitually as a ghost
Not far from Hillside Gate, where she haunted, appeared for a short time a much more remarkable spirit.—W. B. Yeats
W. B. Yeats
haunter
noun
1
: a place habitually frequented
a favorite haunt of college kids
2
chiefly dialectal
: ghost
Synonyms
Examples of haunt in a Sentence
Verb
Some people believe that the ghost of an old sea captain haunts the beach.
If you ignore the problem, it will come back to haunt you.
Their failure to plan ahead is now coming back to haunt them.
The tune haunted me all day.
Noun
The restaurant became one of her favorite haunts.
one of their favorite after-school haunts is Joe's Pizza
Recent Examples on the Web
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
And, unlike the neighborhood house that is haunted by volunteers, these Halloween attractions are professional outfits staffed throughout the year, even though the window to turn a profit is far smaller, just a month or two around Halloween.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024
Ryan Slattery, Travel + Leisure, 31 Oct. 2024
The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
A favorite haunt of Brendan Behan and Flann O'Brien, this Victorian pub remains a hub for Dublin's literary crowd.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for haunt 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Some stay resolute to the cause; others are haunted by their actions in the past.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
And, unlike the neighborhood house that is haunted by volunteers, these Halloween attractions are professional outfits staffed throughout the year, even though the window to turn a profit is far smaller, just a month or two around Halloween.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
The hotel came about when the Fremont Street Experience was the main attraction, the bars in Fremont East were popular haunts and the walkable dining and drink scene of the Arts District was gaining attention.
—Ryan Slattery, Travel + Leisure, 31 Oct. 2024
The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
A favorite haunt of Brendan Behan and Flann O'Brien, this Victorian pub remains a hub for Dublin's literary crowd.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for haunt
Articles Related to haunt
Dictionary Entries Near haunt
Cite this Entry
“Haunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haunt. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
haunt
1 of 2 verb
ˈhȯnt 
ˈhänt
1
: to visit often : frequent
they haunted the antique shops
2
a
: to have a disturbing or harmful effect on
problems we ignore now will come back to haunt us
b
: to come back to the mind of again and again
the song haunted me all day
3
: to visit or live in as a ghost
spirits haunted the house
haunter
noun
haunt
2 of 2 noun
ˈhȯnt
ˈhänt
: a place repeatedly visited
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share