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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

Once released, the spring-loaded snare launches the ant more than 30 centimeters upward into the spider's main web.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Even Erling Haaland would look like an ant from that height.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

A new species of spider which weaves a catapult-like silk trap to snare a single type of ant has been discovered in the remote rainforests of northern Australia.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

When the ant finally came out at the other end, the thread, of course, was running clear through all the twists and turns.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2015

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

“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

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

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

But the giant ant- eater was the most wonderful, for he walked on his knuckles, and strode majestically about, for all the world like a mammalian peacock, exhibiting his great tail.

From Fan : the story of a young girl's life by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)

The ant- bear has not a tooth in his head, still he roves fearless on in the same forests with the jaguar and boa-constrictor.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are several Italian literary versions, the best known being in the Cento nov. ant. ed.

From Italian Popular Tales by Crane, Thomas Frederick

Such names as Father Alexandre de Rhodes, Ant. d'Andrada, Avril, Benedict Goes, may not be passed over in silence.

From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part I. The Exploration of the World by Leigh, Dora

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

Ant. fo. 94b.258.Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p.

From London and the Kingdom - Volume I by Sharpe, Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson)

Now, you know the shelf bottles of tartar emetic and Rochelle salt Ant. et Pot.

From Strictly business: more stories of the four million by Henry, O.

Sheer green food tents keep ants out of fancy cheeses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

"It's very unusual for a spider to feed on ants, because they're notoriously dangerous, and even more bizarre to find a spider that eats only one particular ant species," said Professor Narendra.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Ants have chemical defences, including the ability to sting in some species, and can recruit throngs of other ants rapidly as backup to overcome potential predators, Narendra explained.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Imagine combat choreographed by ants, swarms of elbows and legs scrabbling to emerge victorious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

If Dad found an ant hill, he’d tell us about certain colonies of ants that kept slaves and herds of cows.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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