noun, verb, slang ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Clipping of banter. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang, uncountable

Verb

1. 1
   To regulate what one eats according to the precepts of William Banting; to go on a diet. archaic, colloquial

   "If he is […] gouty, obese, and nervous, we strongly recommend him to ‘bant.’"

Example

More examples

"If he is […] gouty, obese, and nervous, we strongly recommend him to ‘bant.’"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Back-formation from banting.

Etymology 2

Clipping of banter.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.