pendant

American  

[pen-duhnt] / ˈpɛn dənt /

noun

1. a hanging ornament, as an earring or the main piece suspended from a necklace.

2. an ornament suspended from a roof, vault, or ceiling.

3. a hanging electrical lighting fixture; chandelier.

4. that by which something is suspended, as the ringed stem of a watch.

5. a match, parallel, companion, or counterpart.

6. Nautical. Also a length of rope attached to a masthead, the end of a yardarm, etc., and having a block or thimble secured to its free end.

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adjective

1. pendent.

pendant British  

/ ˈpɛndənt /

noun

1. 1. an ornament that hangs from a piece of jewellery

   2. a necklace with such an ornament

2. a hanging light, esp a chandelier

3. a carved ornament that is suspended from a ceiling or roof

4. something that matches or complements something else

5. Also called: pennant.  nautical a length of wire or rope secured at one end to a mast or spar and having a block or other fitting at the lower end

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adjective

1. a variant spelling of pendent

Other Word Forms

• nonpendant adjective
• pendanted adjective
• pendantlike adjective
• unpendant adjective

Etymology

Origin of pendant

1300–50; Middle English pendaunt < Anglo-French; Middle French pendant, noun use of present participle of pendre to hang < Vulgar Latin *pendere for Latin pendēre. See pend, -ant

Explanation

If you’re wearing a necklace with a large gold heart on a delicate chain, then you have a pendant, an ornament that hangs on a chain. The word pendant traces back to the Latin word, pendere, meaning "to hang," which tips you off that pendant is a word describing something that hangs, like an ornament that hangs on a chain or a type of light that hangs from the ceiling. As an adjective, pendant means "held from above," like the pendant rock formations that hang from the cave's ceiling.

Example Sentences

She wanted to repurpose it as a pendant to symbolize a new beginning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Other rooms downstairs include the B-Movie Bathroom, ’Naynay’s Kitchen of Progress and the ’80s & ’90s Food Culture Hall of Fame dining room, which is illuminated by a Pizza Hut pendant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

On her necklace was a tiny pendant in the shape of a dove.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

The museum hopes to formally include the pendant in the collection later this year, and has plans for it to tour the UK in the future.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

I pull out my silver sun pendant and stare down at it, rubbing a tarnished point.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Related Words

• dangling
• hanging
• overhanging
• pendent
• pendulous
• pensile