Pant

//pænt// name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a gasp: the panting of animals such as a dog with their tong hung out- as a form of thermoregulation.
  2. 2
    A pair of pants (trousers or underpants).
  3. 3
    Any public drinking fountain.
  4. 4
    a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open wordnet
  5. 5
    Eager longing. figuratively

    "Indeed, the projections, cravings, and everyday frolics common to trysts among buzz-activist Hollywood stars and starlets, plus their many common folk imitators, go forward with eager pant."

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  1. 6
    Of or relating to pants. attributive

    "pant leg"

  2. 7
    (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately wordnet
  3. 8
    A violent palpitation of the heart. obsolete

    "To this great fairy I'll commend thy acts, / Make her thanks bless thee. O thou day o' the world, / Chain mine arm'd neck; leap thou, attire and all; / Through proof of harness to my heart, and there / Ride on the pants triumphing."

  4. 9
    the noise made by a short puff of steam (as from an engine) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion or from eagerness or excitement; to respire with heaving of the breast; to gasp. ambitransitive

    "Pluto pants for breath from out his cell."

  2. 2
    breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted wordnet
  3. 3
    To long eagerly; to desire earnestly. intransitive

    "As the hart panteth after the water brooks."

  4. 4
    utter while panting, as if out of breath wordnet
  5. 5
    To long for (something); to be eager for (something). obsolete, transitive

    "Then shall our hearts pant thee."

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  1. 6
    Of the heart, to beat with unnatural violence or rapidity; to palpitate. intransitive

    "Yet might her piteous heart be seen to pant and quake"

  2. 7
    To sigh; to flutter; to languish. intransitive

    "[T]he whiſp'ring Breeze / Pants on the Leaves, and dies upon the Trees."

  3. 8
    To heave, as the breast. intransitive
  4. 9
    To bulge and shrink successively, of iron hulls, etc. intransitive
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A river in Essex, England, which forms the upper part of the Blackwater. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A surname.
  3. 3
    A locality in Austwick parish, North Yorkshire, England. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A village in Llanymynech and Pant parish, Shropshire, England, on the border with Wales (OS grid ref SJ2722). countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A locality in Ayrshire, Scotland. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    A village and community in Merthyr Tydfil borough, Wales (OS grid ref SO0609). countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
gaspcravegasppalpitatecravedesire

Example

More examples

"Tom's gone down two pant sizes since he went vegan."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English panten, whence also English dialectal pank. Possibly from Old French pantoyer, a byform or of Old French pantoisier (“to be breathless”) (compare modern French panteler (“to gasp for breath”)), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Vulgar Latin *pantasiō (“struggling for breath when having a nightmare”), from Ancient Greek φαντασιόω (phantasióō, “I am subject to hallucinations”), from φαντασία (phantasía, “appearance, image, fantasy”).

Etymology 2

From pants.

Etymology 3

Unknown

Etymology 4

As a place name, usually from Proto-Brythonic *panto (“hollow”), or its descendant forms Cumbric pant and Welsh pant.

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Marathi पंत (panta).

Related phrases

half-pantpant cuffpant legpant suitpant-hootpant-wettingdrinking fountain

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