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 byon ).

   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.

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.

bent

²

[bent]

noun

1. bent grass.

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. offensive,  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. 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), 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

The image penetrates deeply into the galaxy's center, revealing a sharply bent, ribbon-like jet structure and providing clues about the plasma's composition and motion.

Read more on Science Daily

We have had strong leaders before, but never have the instruments of governing power been bent quite so aggressively to service the ambitions and wishes of the chief executive.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Kerkerking bent over in immediate regret, as the Dodgers came pouring out of the dugout to mob Pages near first base.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As the Fitz bent, it also broke records, setting marks for total annual tonnage as well as the biggest individual cargoes on the Great Lakes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

During the following decades, exhibitions often revealed a tug-of-war between opposing sensibilities—fissures perhaps unavoidable in a contentious democracy’s national museums—but in this century, a particular ideological bent has become dominant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal