like a dog in the hunt
- idiom
- Informal
:
como un perro en la caza
- Whenever she sets her mind on a project, she's like a dog in the hunt and won't give up.
Examples
-
Reporters, like a dog in the hunt, followed every lead to uncover the story.
-
She pursued her dreams like a dog in the hunt!
-
He pursued the truth like a dog in the hunt, ignoring all distractions.
-
He worked like a dog in the hunt to finish the project on time.
-
He pursued the truth like a dog in the hunt, ignoring all distractions.
-
Reporters, like a dog in the hunt, followed every lead to uncover the story.
-
Whenever she sets her mind on a project, she's like a dog in the hunt and won't give up.
Synonyms
447
1.0
Wanting very much to do or have something and showing strong interest
47
3.4
Watching carefully to find someone or something
18
6.8
Being very excited and active about a cause or goal
14
6.3
To move around while looking for something to catch or get
5
5.3
Chasing someone quickly right after they run away
4
7.4
To do something with great energy and effort
1
7.9
Being very determined when finding and following clues
1
4.7
Being very determined and refusing to give up
Constantly bothering someone by following or asking them
Very determined and unwilling to give up when trying to reach a goal
Doing something suddenly and forcefully without thinking because you are very eager
Antonyms
How Determined
- Informal
22
7.1
82
4.9
447
1.0
∞
1.0
46
4.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
like + a + dog + in + the + hunt
This is a clear simile whose meaning is directly inferable from its parts: 'like' signals comparison, 'dog' evokes an animal that eagerly pursues prey, and 'hunt' denotes pursuit/search, so the sense of eager or persistent pursuit follows naturally. The image is concrete and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should understand the MWE.
Etymology
Like a dog in the hunt comes from real hunting scenes, where a bold dog follows a strong smell and chases its prey during the hunt, not stopping until it catches it. That's why the phrase means 'very eager' and 'persistent'.