haunt
gb/hˈɔnt/ us/hˈɔnt/
B1
English
~ 8000
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
Trouble someone’s mind repeatedly
To stay in someone’s mind again and again and make them feel bad, worried, or sad.
Usage pattern:
to haunt [someone] / [someone’s thoughts, memories, dreams]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "haunt" with "hunt" or "taunt." "Haunt" is about something returning in the mind or a ghost visiting a place, while "hunt" means to chase and kill animals, and "taunt" means to mock someone. Learners may also say *"haunt in my mind"*; use "haunt me" or "haunt my mind" instead.
Synonyms
torment (Stronger and more intense, suggesting severe and ongoing mental or emotional pain.)
Antonyms
comfort (Means to make someone feel calmer and better, the opposite of causing mental distress.)
Collocations
haunt someone
|haunt someone for years
|haunt his/her/their dreams
|memories that haunt
|question that haunts
|haunted by guilt
Themes
emotions
|psychology
|health
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The mistake still haunts him whenever he thinks about that day.
- Images of the accident haunted her for years after it happened.
- The question of what more they could have done continues to haunt the survivors.
- Her father’s last words haunt her every time she closes her eyes.
- The decision to lie in court would later haunt his conscience.
Learner examples
- The car crash haunts him every night.
- Her bad choice haunts her, and she feels sorry.
- The war still haunts many people in that town.
- That scary movie scene haunts my dreams.
- His words were unkind, and they haunt me now.
Verb
B1
action
2
Ghost regularly appears in a place
If a ghost haunts a place, it stays or comes there again and again.
Usage pattern:
[a ghost/spirit] haunts [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "haunt" for living people, e.g. *"The old man haunts the house"* when they mean he just lives there or visits often. For normal people, say "live in" or "go to"; "haunt" is usually for ghosts or for the mental/emotional sense.
Synonyms
appear (A more general word; does not include the idea of doing so repeatedly in a specific place like a ghost.)
Antonyms
depart (Focuses on leaving a place, the opposite of staying around and appearing there again.)
Collocations
haunted house
|haunted castle
|ghosts haunt
|said to haunt
|rumored to haunt
|spirits that haunt
Themes
supernatural
|stories
|arts_entertainment
Examples
- They say the ghost of a young bride haunts the old hotel.
- Local legends claim that soldiers still haunt the battlefield at night.
- People avoid the house at the end of the road, believing it to be haunted by an angry spirit.
- The ruined theater is thought to be haunted by the actress who died on stage.
- Tourists come from all over to visit the castle said to be haunted by three different ghosts.
Learner examples
- People say a ghost haunts this castle.
- The story is about a ghost that haunts a small house.
- Many tourists visit the old hotel because it is haunted.
- They believe the dead king haunts the tower.
- In the film, ghosts haunt a family’s home.
Verb
literary
B2
action
3
Visit a place very often
To go to the same place again and again, often for pleasure or habit.
Usage pattern:
to haunt [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this use of "haunt" always has a scary meaning because of ghosts. In this sense it simply means "go to often" and is not scary. It is also more common in written or literary English than in very casual speech.
Synonyms
frequent (Slightly more formal; commonly used in writing to mean visiting a place often.)
Antonyms
avoid (Means to stay away from a place on purpose, the opposite of going there regularly.)
Collocations
haunt bars
|haunt the library
|haunt old cafés
|haunt the streets
|haunt the same restaurant
|writers haunt
Themes
daily life
|places
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- When he was a student, he used to haunt second-hand bookshops.
- Street musicians and artists haunt the old city square every summer.
- She haunts the same café every morning before work, always sitting at the back table.
- In his youth he haunted jazz clubs, listening for new sounds late into the night.
- Reporters began to haunt the courthouse, waiting for a comment from the lawyers.
Learner examples
- As a child, he haunted the local cinema.
- She haunts the same coffee shop every Friday.
- Tourists haunt the beaches in the summer.
- Writers used to haunt this quiet bar.
- Students haunt the library before exams.
Noun
B2
entity
4
Place someone often goes to
A place where a person or group often goes.
Usage pattern:
[a/an] [adjective] haunt for [group of people]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think a "haunt" must involve ghosts. As a noun, it very often just means a usual place someone goes, especially with collocations like "favorite haunt" or "old haunt."
Synonyms
hangout (More informal; often used for young people or friends spending relaxed time together.)
Antonyms
unfamiliar place (A place someone does not know or visit, the opposite of a regular or favorite haunt.)
Collocations
favorite haunt
|old haunt
|local haunt
|tourist haunt
|student haunt
|regular haunt
Themes
daily life
|places
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- This café has been a favorite haunt of writers for decades.
- We decided to meet at our old haunt near the station.
- The bar is a popular haunt for journalists and politicians.
- During the summer, the beach becomes a regular haunt for local families.
- The park was once a haunt of chess players and storytellers.
Learner examples
- This small bar is their favorite haunt.
- We went back to our old haunt from college.
- The club is a popular haunt for students.
- That park is a weekend haunt for many families.
- This restaurant is a regular haunt for my friends.
Noun
literary
B2
entity
5
Place where a ghost appears
A place where people believe a ghost often comes.
Usage pattern:
[a/an] haunt of [ghost/spirit]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this with the more common noun sense meaning a regular hangout. In stories, look for ghost-related words (ghost, spirit, cursed, etc.) around "haunt" to recognize this supernatural meaning.
Synonyms
haunted place (A common phrase describing the same idea; uses an adjective + noun instead of the noun "haunt" alone.)
Antonyms
ordinary place (Emphasizes that nothing supernatural is believed to happen there, the opposite of a ghostly haunt.)
Collocations
a famous haunt
|ghostly haunt
|spooky haunt
|a haunt of ghosts
|tourist haunt for ghost hunters
|legendary haunt
Themes
supernatural
|stories
|arts_entertainment
Examples
- The ruined abbey is said to be a haunt of restless spirits.
- Ghost tours take visitors through the city’s most notorious haunts.
- Locals refuse to go near the cliff at night, calling it a haunt of the drowned.
- They turned the old prison, once a haunt of ghosts in local stories, into a museum.
- For horror fans, the village church has become a legendary haunt.
Learner examples
- The castle is a famous haunt of ghosts.
- Tourists visit the town’s old haunts on a ghost tour.
- People say this house is a haunt for many spirits.
- That hotel is a well-known haunt in scary stories.
- We walked past the dark haunt in the forest.
Grammar
Dictionary form
haunt
IPA
GB/hˈɔnt/
US/hˈɔnt/
Syllables & stress
haunt (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (haunt)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: haunt
- Plural: haunts
Verb
- Base: haunt
- 3rd Person Singular: haunts
- Present Participle: haunting
- Past: haunted
Word family
Forms
haunts
noun
haunting
verb
haunted
verb
Related words
hauntingly
adverb C1
Expressions
a favorite haunt
1/ə fˈeɪvɚɪt hˈɔnt/
fixed phrase
Place someone loves to visit often
A place that a person likes very much and goes to many times.
Examples
- This riverside bar is a favorite haunt of local musicians.
- The little bakery on the corner became their favorite haunt.
- In college, the library café was my favorite haunt.
come back to haunt someone
1/kˈʌm bˈæk tə hˈɔnt sˈʌmwˌʌn/
idiom
Past actions cause later trouble
If something you did in the past comes back to haunt you, it creates problems for you later.
Examples
- His lies eventually came back to haunt him when the emails were released.
- The company’s decision to ignore safety rules came back to haunt it in court.
- Be careful what you post online; it could come back to haunt you years from now.
haunt someone's dreams
1/hˈɔnt sˈʌmwˌʌnz dɹˈimz/
fixed phrase
Appear in disturbing dreams repeatedly
To appear again and again in someone’s bad or strong dreams, usually making them feel afraid or upset.
Examples
- The image of the sinking ship still haunts his dreams.
- Scenes from the war haunt her dreams every night.
- That terrible accident has haunted my dreams for months.
haunted by the past
1/hˈɔntɪd bˈaɪ ðə pˈæst/
fixed phrase
Deeply troubled by past events
To feel strong, continuing pain, guilt, or sadness because of things that happened before.
Examples
- He is still haunted by the past and cannot forgive himself for what happened.
- The country remains haunted by the past, struggling to deal with old injustices.
- She seems haunted by the past whenever anyone mentions her childhood.
old haunt
1/ˈoʊld hˈɔnt/
fixed phrase
Place someone used to visit often
A place where someone often went in the past.
Examples
- We met at one of our old haunts from university.
- He drove past his old haunts and felt suddenly nostalgic.
- They decided to revisit their old haunt by the river.