Manhunt

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmænˌhʌnt/

Definitions

1. A systematic effort by authorities to discover and capture an individual suspected of wrongdoing, often involving multiple agencies and significant resources
2. An organized and intensive search operation aimed at finding a person accused of a serious crime, usually executed by law enforcement officials
3. A coordinated search by law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend a fugitive believed to be involved in a criminal act often involving extensive resources and manpower

Etymology: "Manhunt" is a plain compound of "man" and "hunt," and its meaning is closer to the old sense of "hunt" than most readers would guess. The first element is the ordinary English noun "man," used here in its older sense of a human being, so the word is literally a hunt for a human. That sense makes sense of its use for pursuing fugitives: the quarry is a person, not an animal. The second element, "hunt," goes back to Old English "huntian," meaning to chase game. Put the two together and "manhunt" originally describes the pursuit of people, a meaning that sets it apart from the animal-focused hunting that "hunt" usually names. Compounds built this way were a common English pattern, and the coordinated, resource-heavy sense of the modern noun developed on top of that literal meaning.

Synonyms: search, pursuit, chase, quest