Rant
//ɹænt// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A criticism done by ranting.
- 2 pompous or pretentious talk or writing wordnet
- 3 A wild, emotional, and sometimes incoherent articulation.
- 4 a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion wordnet
- 5 A type of dance step usually performed in clogs, and particularly (but not exclusively) associated with the English North West Morris tradition. The rant step consists of alternately bringing one foot across and in front of the other and striking the ground, with the other foot making a little hop.
Verb
- 1 To speak or shout at length in uncontrollable anger.
- 2 talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner wordnet
- 3 To disseminate one's own opinions in a—typically—one-sided, strong manner.
"Harry was ranting about his boss again, but nobody paid any attention."
- 4 To criticize by ranting.
- 5 To speak extravagantly, as in merriment. dated
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- 6 To dance rant steps.
Example
More examples"If my robot goes on a rant, can that also be called a "roborant"?"
Etymology
From Dutch ranten, randen (“to talk nonsense, rave”), from Middle Dutch ranten (“to rant, babble, goof around”), of uncertain origin; but apparently related to Middle High German ranzen (“to dance, jump around, frolic”), German ranzen (“to be ardent, be in heat, copulate, mate, ramble, join up”).
Related phrases
More for "rant"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.