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hide-and-seek

hide-and-seek

48 1.0
A children's game where one child closes their eyes, counts, then finds the others
  • noun
  • /ˈhaɪd ənd siːk/
translation icon : escondite
  • You grew up playing hide-and-seek and dodgeball together.
  • play hide-and-seek
  • a game of hide-and-seek

So I was walking and talking and we were playing a game of hide and seek.

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Examples

  • "Gosh, I remember playing hide-and-seek out here at night with my friends when we were kids."

    Fiction book (1999)
  • We thought it was smart and funny and fun to play hide and seek with Zoe.

  • Are we playing hide and seek?

  • We're gonna play hide and seek, okay?

  • Did I ever tell you the story of when I played hide and seek with Mom?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Do you want to play hide and seek, Elizabeth?

  • I used to play hide-and-seek here.

  • Right, so we're just playing hide and seek outside now and I can't find the boys anywhere.

  • Doesn't it seem a long time ago when the whole neighborhood gathered for hide and seek under the lilacs?

    Fiction book (2002)
  • We're going to play hide-and-seek in the backyard after dinner.

Synonyms

hide and go seek
vshide-and-seek
5 1.3

A children's game where one person counts with eyes closed and finds hidden players

is the same game but written as a hyphenated form

How Childlike

peekaboo
  • Baby Talk
10 2.0
hide-and-seek
48 1.0
child's game
3 1.0
game
1.0

Surface Forms

hide-and-seek singular
hide and seek singular

Morphology

hide-and-seek = hide + seek (transparent) = hide + and + seek

The compound literally names the activity (players hide and another seeks), so its meaning is directly derived from its components.

Etymology

Hide-and-seek literally tells you the game: one player hides ('puts out of sight') while the others seek ('look for' them), so the name explains exactly what players do.