quest

1 of 2

noun

ˈkwest 

1

a

: a jury of inquest

b

: investigation

2

: an act or instance of seeking:

a

: pursuit, search

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

Synonyms

Noun

• hunt
• search

Verb

• call (for)
• claim
• clamor (for)
• command
• demand
• enjoin
• exact
• insist (on)
• press (for)
• stipulate (for)

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

Other than that, nominees are still missing pieces of the file or are waiting on dates to be confirmed for hearings—a headache for Trump’s quest to have a turn-key Cabinet ready and an opportunity for Democrats to have more time to kick the tires. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 8 Jan. 2025

The short explanation is that in a quest to maximize TV revenue (and specifically revenue generated because of college football), schools around the country changed conferences. —Ben Pickman, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025

Verb

Similarly, in the 1880s, Richard Wagner wrote the second act of his opera Parsifal, the tale of a questing Arthurian knight, in Ravello. —airmail.news, 6 July 2024

That’s a shame, because Nichols’ passionate vision of alienated American men, tragically in search of purpose, questing for freedom, couldn’t be timelier. —Steven Gaydos, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024

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

Phrases Containing quest

• in quest of
• vision quest

Kids Definition

quest

1 of 2 noun

ˈkwest 

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