pent
verb
a simple past tense and past participle of pen.
pent
1 American
[pent]
/ pɛnt /
verb
adjective
pent
2
American
[pent]
/ pɛnt /
noun
Pent.
3
American
abbreviation
pent
British
/ pɛnt /
verb
Etymology
Origin of pent1
First recorded in 1535–45; late Middle English pente, pent, past participle of obsolete pend, variant of pennen “to enclose, confine”; cf. pen 2
Origin of pent2
By shortening
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Demand was so pent up that it crashed the website of distributor Vinegar Syndrome more than once.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Aswan remembers taking her driving theory test: "I got so pent up about passing it first time that when I failed by a couple of points I've never tried to get it back."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
Jefferson played with the ferocity of nearly two years of pent up football frustration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
“Post-COVID, we got this big influx of revenge travel, where everyone’s so pent up indoors and they’re just like, ‘Get me out there,’ ” McElroy explains.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2024
All these years it’s been pent up inside me.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
