bent

1
[ bent ]
See synonyms for bent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. curved; crooked: a bent bow;a bent stick.

  2. determined; set; resolved (usually followed by on): to be bent on buying a new car.

  1. Chiefly British Slang.

    • morally crooked; corrupt.

    • stolen: bent merchandise.

    • unbalanced or crazy; irrational: Man, your take on things is so bent I can hardly follow it.

  2. Chiefly British Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. gay (def. 1).

noun
  1. direction taken, as by one's interests; inclination: a bent for painting.

  2. capacity of endurance: to work at the top of one's bent.

  1. Civil Engineering. a transverse frame, as of a bridge or an aqueduct, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads.

  2. Archaic. bent state or form; curvature.

verb
  1. the simple past tense and past participle of bend1.

Idioms about bent

  1. bent (out of shape), Informal. angry or upset: I like that you can share your thoughts on stuff and not get bent out of shape if I disagree.I don’t know why you’re so bent—I’m just a couple minutes late.: Also bent up .

Origin of bent

1
First recorded in 1350–1400 for the adjective and past tense; past participle of bend1

Other words for bent

Words Nearby bent

Other definitions for bent (2 of 2)

bent2
[ bent ]

noun
  1. a stalk of bent grass.

  1. Scot., North England. (formerly) any stiff grass or sedge.

  2. British Dialect. a moor; heath; tract of uncultivated, grassy land, used as a pasture or hunting preserve.

Origin of bent

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; earlier benet-, bunet- (in compounds), Old English beonet-, beonot- (in placenames); cognate with Old High German binuz (compare German Binse ) “the rush plant”

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

How to use bent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bent (1 of 2)

bent1

/ (bɛnt) /


adjective
  1. not straight; curved

  2. (foll by on) fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)

  1. slang

    • dishonest; corrupt

    • (of goods) stolen

    • crazy; mad

    • British offensive homosexual

noun
  1. personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude

  2. capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent)

  1. civil engineering a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it

British Dictionary definitions for bent (2 of 2)

bent2

/ (bɛnt) /


noun
  1. short for bent grass

  2. a stalk of bent grass

  1. archaic any stiff grass or sedge

  2. Scot and Northern English dialect heath or moorland

Origin of bent

2
Old English bionot; related to Old Saxon binet, Old High German binuz rush

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