ante

[ an-tee ]
See synonyms for: anteantedanteedanteing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Poker. a fixed but arbitrary stake put into the pot by each player before the deal.

  2. an amount of money paid in advance to insure an individual's share in a joint business venture.

  1. Informal. an individual's share of the total expenses incurred by a group.

  2. Informal. the price or cost of something.

verb (used with object),an·ted or an·teed, an·te·ing.
  1. Poker. to put (one's initial stake) into the pot.

  2. to produce or pay (one's share) (usually followed by up): He anted up his half of the bill.

verb (used without object),an·ted or an·teed, an·te·ing.
  1. Poker. to put one's initial stake into the pot.

  2. Informal. to pay (usually followed by up).

Origin of ante

1
First recorded in 1830–40, Americanism; independent use of ante-

Words that may be confused with ante

Other definitions for ante- (2 of 2)

ante-

  1. a prefix meaning “before,” used in the formation of compound words: anteroom; antebellum; antedate.

Origin of ante-

2
From Latin, prefixal form of preposition and adverb ante (see ancient1); akin to Greek antí, Old English and- “against, toward, opposite.” See answer, and, anti-

Words that may be confused with ante-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ante in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ante (1 of 2)

ante

/ (ˈæntɪ) /


noun
  1. the gaming stake put up before the deal in poker by the players

  2. informal a sum of money representing a person's share, as in a syndicate

  1. up the ante informal to increase the costs, risks, or considerations involved in taking an action or reaching a conclusion: whenever they reached their goal, they upped the ante by setting more complex challenges for themselves

verb-tes, -teing, -ted or -teed
  1. to place (one's stake) in poker

  2. (usually foll by up) informal, mainly US to pay

British Dictionary definitions for ante- (2 of 2)

ante-

prefix
  1. before in time or position; previous to; in front of: antedate; antechamber

Origin of ante-

2
from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012