Pant

/pænt/ name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: 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.
  • Grammar: pant is listed as name, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: gasp, ache for, ache for, aim.
  • Useful contrasts: be content, be satisfied, breathe easily.
  • Usage evidence: Tom's gone down two pant sizes since he went vegan.

How to use "pant"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pant" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pant" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pant" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pant" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "pant" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "gasp" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "pant", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

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."

Show 4 more definitions
  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."

Show 4 more definitions
  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
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A village and community in Merthyr Tydfil borough, Wales (OS grid ref SO0609). countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
gaspache forache foraimaqua lungaqua-lung

Antonyms

be contentbe satisfiedbreathe easilybreathe normally

Example

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

Common questions

What does "pant" mean?

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.

What is a synonym for "pant"?

Common synonyms include: gasp, ache for, ache for, aim, aqua lung, aqua-lung.

How do you use "pant" in a sentence?

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

How do you pronounce "pant"?

Pronounced /pænt/.

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).

More for "pant"

Synonyms

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