bent

¹

[ bent ]

adjective

1. curved; crooked: a bent stick.

   a bent bow;

   a bent stick.

   Synonyms: rounded, hooked

2. determined; set; resolved (usually followed by on ):

   to be bent on buying a new car.

   Synonyms: intent

3. Chiefly British Slang.
   1. morally crooked; corrupt.
   2. stolen:

      bent merchandise.

   3. unbalanced or crazy; irrational:

      Man, your take on things is so bent I can hardly follow it.

4. Chiefly British Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. gay ( def 1 ).

noun

1. direction taken, as by one's interests; inclination:

   a bent for painting.

   Synonyms: bias, partiality, leaning, penchant, predilection, proclivity, propensity, tendency

2. capacity of endurance:

   to work at the top of one's bent.

3. Civil Engineering. a transverse frame, as of a bridge or an aqueduct, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads.
4. Archaic. bent state or form; curvature.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of bend ¹.

bent

²

[ bent ]

noun

1. bent grass ( def ).
2. a stalk of bent grass.
3. Scot., North England. (formerly) any stiff grass or sedge.
4. British Dialect. a moor; heath; tract of uncultivated, grassy land, used as a pasture or hunting preserve.

bent

¹

/ bɛnt /

adjective

1. not straight; curved
2. foll by on fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)
3. slang.
   1. dishonest; corrupt
   2. (of goods) stolen
   3. crazy; mad
   4. homosexual

noun

1. personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude
2. capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent )
3. civil engineering a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it

bent

²

/ bɛnt /

noun

1. See bent grass
   short for bent grass
2. a stalk of bent grass
3. archaic.
   any stiff grass or sedge
4. dialect.
   heath or moorland

Word History and Origins

Origin of bent¹

First recorded in 1350–1400 for the adjective and past tense; past participle of bend ¹

Origin of bent²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; earlier benet-, bunet- (in compounds), Old English beonet-, beonot- (in placenames); cognate with Old High German binuz (compare German Binse ) “the rush plant”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bent¹

Old English bionot ; related to Old Saxon binet , Old High German binuz rush

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bent (out of shape), Informal. angry or upset: Also bent up.

   I like that you can share your thoughts on stuff and not get bent out of shape if I disagree.

   I don’t know why you’re so bent—I’m just a couple minutes late.

Example Sentences

There is no reason to really be bent out of shape or get worried or frustrated with anything.

From Washington Post

Inside each pack is a metal disk that needs to be snapped or bent to release a heat-generating compound.

From Popular-Science

As the value of the crates has risen, so too has a new class of criminals hell-bent on stealing honeybees.

From Popular-Science

The daughter of a mobster, Ji-U is bent on seeking revenge after her father’s death and poses as a police officer to find the parties responsible.

From Time

I don’t want to go so far as to say that there’s like a fascist or authoritarian bent here.

From Time

Those with a slightly sleazier bent have dredged up reports of his weight gain, substance abuse, and arrest.

From The Daily Beast

One detainee was bent over for a rectal feeding that involved Ensure, the protein shake.

From The Daily Beast

But Flagg, too, comes apart in his machinations, bent ever more fully on political domination.

From The Daily Beast

Eric Garner was bent over, wrestled down, spread out, and squeezed until he popped.

From The Daily Beast

No one is saying you wake up every morning hell-bent on killing unarmed black kids.

From The Daily Beast

He frowned, and bent his head, and his long hair fell over his face, while the poor Stuttgardter sat there like a beaten hound.

From Project Gutenberg

This judicial bent of the child is a curious one and often develops a priggish fondness for setting others morally straight.

From Project Gutenberg

Lady Maude advanced; she had really come in by accident; her head was bent, her eyelashes rested on her flushed cheeks.

From Project Gutenberg

Then she bent her glance to the writing, and studied it a moment, what time the man from Paris watched her closely.

From Project Gutenberg

She opened a large black fan and moved it slowly while looking intently at her son's bent profile.

From Project Gutenberg