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• ant
  ant

  noun

  any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution especially in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.
• an't
  an't

  contraction of am not.
• ant-
  ant-

  variant of anti- before a vowel or h: antacid; anthelmintic .
• -ant
  -ant

  a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs, occurring originally in French and Latin loanwords (pleasant; constant; servant ) and productive in English on this model; -ant has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of ” that named by the stem (ascendant; pretendant ), especially in the formation of nouns denoting human agents in legal actions or other formal procedures (tenant; defendant; applicant; contestant ). In technical and commercial coinages, -ant is a suffix of nouns denoting impersonal physical agents (propellant; lubricant; deodorant ). In general, -ant can be added only to bases of Latin origin, with a very few exceptions, as coolant .
• ant.
  ant.

  abbreviation

  antenna
• Ant.
  Ant.

  abbreviation

  Antarctica.

ant

¹ American  

[ant] / ænt /

noun

ants plural

1. any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution especially in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.

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idioms

1. have ants in one's pants, to be impatient or eager to act or speak.

an't ² American  

[ant, ahnt, eynt] / ænt, ɑnt, eɪnt /

1. Chiefly British Dialect. contraction of am not.

2. Dialect. ain't.

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ant- ³ American  

1. variant of anti- before a vowel or h: antacid; anthelmintic .

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-ant ⁴ American  

1. a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs, occurring originally in French and Latin loanwords (pleasant; constant; servant ) and productive in English on this model; -ant has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of ” that named by the stem (ascendant; pretendant ), especially in the formation of nouns denoting human agents in legal actions or other formal procedures (tenant; defendant; applicant; contestant ). In technical and commercial coinages, -ant is a suffix of nouns denoting impersonal physical agents (propellant; lubricant; deodorant ). In general, -ant can be added only to bases of Latin origin, with a very few exceptions, as coolant .

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ant. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. antenna

2. antonym.

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Ant. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. Antarctica.

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ant ¹ British  

/ ænt /

noun

1. any small social insect of the widely distributed hymenopterous family Formicidae, typically living in highly organized colonies of winged males, wingless sterile females (workers), and fertile females (queens), which are winged until after mating See also army ant fire ant slave ant wood ant

2. another name for a termite

3. slang to be restless or impatient

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an't ² British  

contraction

1. a rare variant spelling of aren't

2. dialect a variant spelling of ain't

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-ant ³ British  

suffix

1. causing or performing an action or existing in a certain condition; the agent that performs an action

   pleasant

   claimant

   deodorant

   protestant

   servant

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ant- ⁴ British  

prefix

1. a variant of anti-

   antacid

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ant¹

before 1000; Middle English am ( e ) te, em ( e ) te, Old English ǣmette; cognate with Middle Low German āmete, ēm ( e ) te, Middle Dutch amete, Old High German āmeiza ( ā- a- ³ + meizan to beat, cut, cognate with Albanian mih (he) digs), German Ameise. See emmet, mite ¹

Origin of an't²

First recorded in 1700–10; see origin at ain't; aren't

Origin of -ant⁴

< Latin -ant-, present participle stem of verbs in -āre; in many words < French -ant < Latin -ant- or -ent- ( see -ent); akin to Middle English, Old English -and-, -end-, present participle suffix

Explanation

An ant is an insect that lives and works in a large colony of ants. Most ants don't have wings, and some of them have stingers. Ants are related to both bees and wasps, and like them are social insects. Ant colonies can include anywhere from a few dozen to millions of ants, divided into jobs or castes. There isn't a continent in the world that doesn't have ants living there. The Middle English word for ant was ampte, from the Old English æmette and a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ant an't ant- -ant ant. Ant. ants

A species of ant has been reintroduced to an area of Shropshire as part of a restoration project to support the health of woodlands.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

The ant experiences acceleration exceeding 1300 meters per second squared before becoming tangled in the web.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

The ant reacts aggressively, biting the cone and accidentally detaching it from the anchor point.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

The snare's "exceptionally high power" flings the ant into a bigger web at "15 times the most extreme g-forces experienced by jet pilots", said lead researcher Prof Ajay Narendra.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

She dug a hole in the ground with her finger and buried the dead ant.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

"But thy an't had thi surprise yet," he said, ominously.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2015

“She’s the forgotten one, an’t she? Our mother—she saw it in her palm, didn’t she?”

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

“Sir, I reckon our time is over for today. My deepest apologies, an’t please Your Honor.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Now I say, my dear, in our case, for lady, read——mum! a word to the wise.—I am in a fine flow of spirits, an’t I?

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

I broke out crying and begging pardon, and hugged Joe round the neck: who dropped the poker to hug me, and to say, “Ever the best of friends; an’t us, Pip? Don’t cry, old chap!”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Without human pressures, then, the ant- and termite-eating contingent of the mammalian fauna might be even more common.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 22, 2013

At lunch, Carly and I discussed the peculiar habitats of the guild of ant- and termite-loving mammals.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 22, 2013

Metochy: the relation borne to ants by the tolerated guests in ant- hills; demanding nothing from and giving nothing to the ants; see symphily and synecthry.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

The ant- hills, and the ant-houses in the trees—arboreal ant-hills, so to speak were as conspicuous as ever.

From Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Roosevelt, Theodore

These ant- wrens hover in front of and over the columns of foraging ants, feeding not only on the other insects aroused by the ants, but on the ants themselves.

From Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Roosevelt, Theodore

Another large group of hovering accents is that formed by French words with such terminations as -our, -ance, -ace, -age, -ant, -ess.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

The present participle active is formed by -ant.

From International Language Past, Present and Future: With Specimens of Esperanto and Grammar by Clark, Walter John

They are formed in the Active by means of the endings -ant, -int, and -ont, and in the Passive by means of the endings -at, -it, -ot, with the addition of the adjectival termination -a.

From Esperanto Self-Taught with Phonetic Pronunciation by Mann, William W.

Abundance is in Mistral's dialect aboundànci. -ant, -anto.

From Frédéric Mistral Poet and Leader in Provence by Downer, Charles Alfred

“All I did was step on a dumb ant. What is he so freaked out about?”

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

“A speaking ant. I’ll warrant y’art being cute.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

“You think it was a him? It’s just a dumb ant. Who cares?”

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Pantanus ant., now the Lake of Lesina, a salt lagoon on the Adriatic.

From The River-Names of Europe by Ferguson, Robert

Fo 111a, 1, Sic habetur in leg. ant., corresponds literally with 1 Cel.,

From Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Houghton, Louise Seymour

Fortunately the danger was perceived by Ant. à Wood, who obtained leave of the Vice-Chancellor to dry them, which he accomplished by spreading them out in the sun upon the leads of the Schools' quadrangle.

From Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth Century by Macray, William Dunn

Ant., under the head "Tribunes of the People."

From Conspiracy of Catiline and the Jurgurthine War by Watson, John Selby

But see note in Ind. Ant. vol. xi. p.

From Tales of the Punjab by Steel, Flora Annie

Sonnet cxi. and "Give me to drink mandragora," Ant. and Cleop.,

From Notes and Queries, Number 72, March 15, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Bell, George

For instance the horns of the female Ant. euchore resemble those of a distinct species, viz. the Ant. dorcas var.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

The rally has attracted an army of retail investors, known locally as "ants", which has helped fuel volatile trading.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Sheer green food tents keep ants out of fancy cheeses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Ewan Chapman, countryside manager for the National Trust, said: "Southern red wood ants play an extraordinary role in woodland ecosystems."

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

During daylight hours, the ballista spider remains hidden beneath a leaf positioned above areas where green tree ants are actively foraging.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Matthias watched some of the tiny ants carrying off his fallen breadcrumbs as he answered, “As well as possible, Brother Methuselah. And how are your studies coming along?”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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