pennant
Americannoun
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pennants
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Refugee
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The Haunting of Hill House
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Code Talker
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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.
See Examples For:
One way to resolve his mechanical flaw would have been for Sasaki to completely overhaul the mechanics he has been using his entire life in the middle of a pennant race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
If you calculate the length of the flagpole to the bottom pennant, as some technicians do, the upside target would be about 7.4%.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
The Braves are off to a good start in 2026 as they lead the National League East with an 18-8 record and are a good bet to contend for the league pennant.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
Two weeks before opening day, it’s like the final week of a pennant race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
Bobby Thomson hit a home run off Ralph Branca to win the National League pennant at a time when I needed the Dodgers to win in the worst way.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Many chart watchers believe pennants tend to appear around the middle of a trend.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Roberts has now tied Tommy Lasorda with those four pennants while trailing only Walter Alston, who went to seven World Series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
Chinos with pennants sewed across them nod to Ralph Lauren.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2024
Under Herzog, the Cards won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987, and the World Series in 1982, when they edged the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
“Okay, try this one: How many American League pennants did the Yankees win under Casey Stengel?”
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
