quest

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a jury of inquest
2
: an act or instance of seeking:
b
: a chivalrous enterprise in medieval romance usually involving an adventurous journey
3
obsolete : a person or group of persons who search or make inquiry

quest

2 of 2

verb

quested; questing; quests

intransitive verb

1
of a dog
a
: to search a trail
b
: bay
2
: to go on a quest

transitive verb

1
: to search for
2
: to ask for
quester noun

Examples of quest in a Sentence

Noun They went on a quest for gold. The team's quest to win a championship finally came to an end. He refuses to give up his quest to discover the truth. Verb They were questing for gold. I respectfully quest your assistance in this matter.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The quest was sparked by the July 2023 opening of the Capital to Tahoe Trail, which was completed after eight years. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Musk considers the moon a stepping stone to Mars, his ultimate quest. Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Auction tags get headlines for their eye-popping prices, and as a window into the crazy economy of dedicated wild-sheep hunters, many of whom are on a quest to achieve a grand slam, or killing each of the four subspecies of North American rams. Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2024 Republicans see an opportunity to flip Brown's seat in their quest to regain control of the Senate. Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 12 Mar. 2024 On the quest, Po is forced to leave his comfort zone of the Valley and venture out into Juniper City, a place bustling with action, plenty of food and new characters. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 The announcement came as a relief to American astronomers, who have been fretting about losing ground to their European colleagues in the quest to examine the heavens with bigger and better telescopes. Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The report was part of a quest for accountability by families of the victims — one that has seemed increasingly elusive over the last two years. Aj Willingham, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 Jump magazine in 1984, Dragon Ball follows protagonist Son Goku’s martial arts training and quest to find the seven titular orbs and summon a wish-granting dragon. Ryotaro Nakamaru, Fortune Asia, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
The character's anxieties — and quest for bravery — fit like a glove. Andrea Mandell, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2024 The simplest way to gain lore is to summon glimmers to go questing. Rob Wieland, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 In contrast to the spiritually questing emotional roller coasters of his contemporary Gustav Mahler’s symphonies, Strauss’s works were the product of an artistic personality that toggled between studied irony and a bourgeois sentimentality seemingly custom-cut to Wilhelmine sensibilities. John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 Online, there’s a performance of the work by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, in which the musicians, barefoot and playing from memory, produce a feeling of renewal—perhaps of one of the souls in an Ovid myth questing toward rebirth. John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 The true lesson of pilgrimage in a secular context instructs us to set out into the world with a questing spirit that is unafraid of looking without finding, allowing curiosity, sympathy and self-improvement to do the work of faith. Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 Clinton was forever questing for ways to feed the world for pennies. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023 Should that quest fail, Reddish could compete for the starting small forward job. Afentres, oregonlive, 6 May 2023 Suited, demented man, questing for angels. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French queste, Vulgar Latin *quaesta, from Latin, feminine of quaestus, past participle of quaerere

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quest was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near quest

Cite this Entry

“Quest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quest. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

quest

1 of 2 noun
1
: an act or instance of seeking
2
a
: search entry 2
in quest of game
b
: an adventurous journey by a knight in a tale of olden days

quest

2 of 2 verb
1
: to go on a quest : seek
2
: to search for : pursue
3
: to ask for : demand

More from Merriam-Webster on quest

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