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ante

[an-tee]
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noun
  1. Poker. a fixed but arbitrary stake put into the pot by each player before the deal.
  2. an amount of money paid in advance to insure an individual's share in a joint business venture.
  3. Informal. an individual's share of the total expenses incurred by a group.
  4. Informal. the price or cost of something.
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verb (used with object), an·ted or an·teed, an·te·ing.
  1. Poker. to put (one's initial stake) into the pot.
  2. to produce or pay (one's share) (usually followed by up): He anted up his half of the bill.
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verb (used without object), an·ted or an·teed, an·te·ing.
  1. Poker. to put one's initial stake into the pot.
  2. Informal. to pay (usually followed by up).
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Origin of ante

1830–40, Americanism; independent use of ante-
Can be confusedante ante- anti- auntie

ante-

  1. a prefix meaning “before,” used in the formation of compound words: anteroom; antebellum; antedate.
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Origin of ante-

< Latin, prefixal form of preposition and adv. ante (see ancient1); akin to Greek antí, Old English and- against, toward, opposite. See answer, and, anti-
Can be confusedante ante- anti- auntie

vide ante

[wee-de ahn-te; English vahy-dee an-tee, vee-]
Latin.
  1. see before (used especially to refer a reader to parts of a text).
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ante

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I confess that, when I beheld you in the ante room, I blushed for my past forgetfulness.

    Calderon The Courtier

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • By instinct, I suppose, I drifted towards my ante bellum quarters.

  • One (called Chipadzi's) has been already mentioned (see p. 75, ante).

  • If it was a bid for him to raise the ante, Morgan was starting off on a lame leg, he said.

    Trail's End

    George W. Ogden

  • These books contain the record kept by the Kirm-ul-Ktibn, (Ante p. 141).

British Dictionary definitions for ante

ante

noun
  1. the gaming stake put up before the deal in poker by the players
  2. informal a sum of money representing a person's share, as in a syndicate
  3. up the ante informal to increase the costs, risks, or considerations involved in taking an action or reaching a conclusionwhenever they reached their goal, they upped the ante by setting more complex challenges for themselves
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verb -tes, -teing, -ted or -teed
  1. to place (one's stake) in poker
  2. (usually foll by up) informal, mainly US to pay
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ante-

prefix
  1. before in time or position; previous to; in front ofantedate; antechamber
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Word Origin

from Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ante

1838 (n.), 1846 (v.), American English poker slang, apparently from Latin ante "before," from PIE *anti "facing opposite, near, in front of, before" (cf. Sanskrit antah "end, border, boundary," Hittite hanti "opposite," Greek anta, anten "opposite," anti "over against, opposite, before;" Old Lithuanian anta "on to;" Gothic anda "along;" Old English and- "against;" German ent- "along, against"), from root *ant- "front, forehead."

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ante-

word-forming element meaning "before, in front of; previous, existing beforehand; introductory to," from Latin ante (prep. and adv.) "before, in front of, opposite," used in combinations, from PIE *anti "facing opposite, near, in front of, before" (see ante).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ante in Medicine

ante-

pref.
  1. Prior to; earlier:antenatal.
  2. In front of; before:antebrachium.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.