quest
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Seeking, or looking after anything.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwehstIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɛst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of seeking, or looking after anything; attempt to find or obtain; search; pursuit.
A journey or effort in pursuit of a goal (often lengthy, ambitious, or fervent); a mission.
video gamesroleplaying games
A task that a player may complete in order to gain a reward or advance the story.
Any material that confines electrons in such a small space that their wavelike behaviour becomes important and their properties are strongly modified by quantum mechanical effects; examples include atoms and layered semiconductor devices.
verb
intransitive
To seek or pursue a goal; to undertake a mission or job.
Search the trail of (game)
“The dog went off and quested.”
Make a search (for)
“Things that die with their eyes open and questing.”
transitive
To search for something; to seek.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of seeking, or looking after anything; attempt to find or obtain; search; pursuit.
Used this way, quest is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Searchverb
“The dog went off and quested.”
Makeverb
“Things that die with their eyes open and questing.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Go in search of or hunt for.
Go in search of or hunt for.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.