quest
Americannoun
-
a search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something.
a quest for uranium mines;
a quest for knowledge.
-
Classical and Medieval Legend. an adventurous expedition undertaken by a knight or knights to secure or achieve something.
the quest of the Holy Grail.
-
those engaged in such an expedition.
-
British Dialect. inquest.
-
Obsolete. a jury of inquest.
verb (used without object)
-
to search; seek (often followed by for orafter ).
to quest after hidden treasure.
-
to go on a quest.
-
Hunting. (of a dog)
-
to search for game.
-
to bay or give tongue in pursuit of game.
-
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the act or an instance of looking for or seeking; search
a quest for diamonds
-
(in medieval romance) an expedition by a knight or company of knights to accomplish some prescribed task, such as finding the Holy Grail
-
the object of a search; goal or target
my quest is the treasure of the king
-
rare a collection of alms
verb
-
to go in search (of)
-
to go on a quest
-
-
to search for game
-
to bay when in pursuit of game
-
-
rare to collect alms
-
archaic (also tr) to go in search of (a thing); seek or pursue
Other Word Forms
- quester noun
- questing adjective
- questingly adverb
- unquested adjective
Etymology
Origin of quest
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun queste, from Old French, from Latin quaesīta, feminine past participle of quaerere “to seek”; Middle English verb derivative of the noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paul Conyngham's months-long quest to fight his rescue mutt Rosie's cancer has grabbed the attention of OpenAI boss Sam Altman, who called it an "amazing story" in an X post on Friday.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
Pfizer’s Lyme vaccine missed the mark in a study, complicating its quest for approval.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
In Sokolov’s “They Will Kill You,” written with Alex Litvak, that premise is combined with a Tarantino-esque taste for kung fu movies and nonlinear storytelling, as well as a “John Wick”-style quest for vengeance.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Colbert is planning to adapt chapters three to eight of The Fellowship of the Ring, in which Frodo and his fellow hobbits begin their epic quest.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
Dr. Johnson’s simple question gets to the heart of a basic and uncomfortable fact: some of the rowdiest cries for America’s freedom came from the Founding Fathers, heroes in the American quest for liberty.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
