pennant
Americannoun
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a long, tapering flag or burgee of distinctive form and special significance, borne on naval or other vessels and used in signaling or for identification.
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any relatively long, tapering flag.
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a flag serving as an emblem of victory or championship, especially in baseball.
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Music. hook.
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Nautical. pendant.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pennant
Explanation
A pennant is a long flag that tapers at one end. You might see a pennant flying on a navy ship, being waved in the crowd of spectators at a baseball game, or hanging on a sporty kid’s bedroom wall. Nautical pennants were the original triangular or tapered flags, and they are still flown on most active warships. Sporting pennants also have a long history, and were once commonly given as prizes or trophies and waved by fans in the stands at high school and college sporting events. Sports teams can still win a pennant, but pennants are often purchased as souvenirs at games and wind up on fans’ walls.
Vocabulary lists containing pennant
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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.
Two decades ago, when fake news actually meant fake, the Onion ran this headline: “Yankees Ensure 2003 Pennant By Signing Every Player In Baseball.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
Prysor, Mostyn, Gower and Pennant are examples of these.
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2023
Officer Pennant has since recovered from the shooting and was released from St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was greeted by the applause of his colleagues and hospital staff.
From Fox News • Feb. 3, 2022
Price: ~25 Oxford Pennant Lapgear lap desk Working from home does not mean you have to have a crazy desk setup.
From The Verge • Nov. 9, 2020
Bass had heard the idea from Alan Fournier of Pennant Capital, in New Jersey—who in turn had heard it from Lippmann.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.