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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, aynt] / 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

He says he felt like an ant walking into the huge facility on his first day in prison; the guard towers reminded him of skyscrapers.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Buglife conservation officer Laura Krusin said: "The narrow-headed ant is only found at one site in England and the erratic ant is also nationally scarce, putting these species' survival at risk."

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

In his short tenure, Walter ant TWG Global started remaking front office and business operations with the Lakers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

As the authors put it, “one ant alone is a disappointment; it is really no ant at all.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The late sun burned down on their heads and there were brown, crumbly ant beds all around them.

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

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

They had retired before a million of men swarming across the country like a vast ant- heap on the move, with a valour that had gained for the British and French forces a deathless glory.

From The Soul of the War by Philip Gibbs

For example, the feeling of ants all over the body when you think that you have been near an ant- hill, or the feeling of physical pain on hearing the description of wounds.

From Criminal Psychology; a manual for judges, practitioners, and students by Hans Gustav Adolf Gross

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 W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

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 William W. Mann

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

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

The present participle active is formed by -ant.

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

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 Raymond MacDonald Alden

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

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

“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

Geranius ant., and Geron ant., two rivers of Elis, according to Strabo.

From The River-Names of Europe by Robert Ferguson

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

From Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane

Nine other volumes were bequeathed by Ant. à Wood in 1695.

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 William Dunn Macray

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

From Tales of the Punjab by Flora Annie Steel

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

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

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 Dora Leigh

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 George Bell

Most of the ants were imported from the US, while some came from Thailand, the ministry said.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Chiefs at Devon Wildlife Trust said they plan to improve the heathland homes of both the narrow-headed and erratic ants, and start new colonies at suitable nearby sites.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

That shifts attention toward other characteristics that may have helped ants, bees and wasps repeatedly evolve highly cooperative colonies.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

“We’re ants, we’re nothing,” I remember him saying, sizing up the state of the American left.

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 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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