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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Timothée Chalamet Took Five Years To Prepare To Play Bob Dylan In ‘A Compete Unknown’ During a small press event in Bob Dylan’s home state of Minnesota on Dec. 5, 2024, Timothée Chalamet said his quest of becoming the legendary troubadour for A Complete Unknown took an immense amount of prep time. Tim Lammers, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025 Director Robert Zemeckis finds mixed results marrying broad comedy and pop-culture references with the title wooden boy's adventurous quest to become a real kid. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Verb
Prisoners The film that put Dune and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve on the map explores the toxicity of retribution as a vengeful Hugh Jackman quests to find his child's kidnapper. Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025 These explorations may run the gamut — as its founders say, Pageant programs artists, not works — but a questing spirit is always intact. New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for quest

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quest. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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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