bent
1curved; crooked: a bent bow;a bent stick.
determined; set; resolved (usually followed by on): to be bent on buying a new car.
Chiefly British Slang.
morally crooked; corrupt.
stolen: bent merchandise.
unbalanced or crazy; irrational: Man, your take on things is so bent I can hardly follow it.
Chiefly British Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. gay (def. 1).
direction taken, as by one's interests; inclination: a bent for painting.
capacity of endurance: to work at the top of one's bent.
Civil Engineering. a transverse frame, as of a bridge or an aqueduct, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads.
Archaic. bent state or form; curvature.
the simple past tense and past participle of bend1.
Idioms about bent
bent (out of shape), Informal. angry or upset: 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.: Also bent up .
Origin of bent
1Other words for bent
Words Nearby bent
Other definitions for bent (2 of 2)
a stalk of bent grass.
Scot., North England. (formerly) any stiff grass or sedge.
British Dialect. a moor; heath; tract of uncultivated, grassy land, used as a pasture or hunting preserve.
Origin of bent
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bent in a sentence
There is no reason to really be bent out of shape or get worried or frustrated with anything.
For first time in three weeks, Capitals could be at full strength Sunday | Samantha Pell | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostInside each pack is a metal disk that needs to be snapped or bent to release a heat-generating compound.
Best hand warmers: Block the chill during your favorite winter activities | PopSci Commerce Team | February 10, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAs the value of the crates has risen, so too has a new class of criminals hell-bent on stealing honeybees.
Bee theft is almost a perfect crime—but there’s a new sheriff in town | Andrew Zaleski | February 9, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThe 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.
I don’t want to go so far as to say that there’s like a fascist or authoritarian bent here.
‘Revenge Tactic:’ GameStop's Massive Stock Surge Isn't Only About Making Money | Peter Allen Clark | January 28, 2021 | Time
Those with a slightly sleazier bent have dredged up reports of his weight gain, substance abuse, and arrest.
D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ Was Worth Waiting 15 Years For | James Joiner | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne detainee was bent over for a rectal feeding that involved Ensure, the protein shake.
But Flagg, too, comes apart in his machinations, bent ever more fully on political domination.
Eric Garner was bent over, wrestled down, spread out, and squeezed until he popped.
No one is saying you wake up every morning hell-bent on killing unarmed black kids.
He frowned, and bent his head, and his long hair fell over his face, while the poor Stuttgardter sat there like a beaten hound.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayThis judicial bent of the child is a curious one and often develops a priggish fondness for setting others morally straight.
Children's Ways | James SullyLady Maude advanced; she had really come in by accident; her head was bent, her eyelashes rested on her flushed cheeks.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThen she bent her glance to the writing, and studied it a moment, what time the man from Paris watched her closely.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniShe opened a large black fan and moved it slowly while looking intently at her son's bent profile.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for bent (1 of 2)
/ (bɛnt) /
not straight; curved
(foll by on) fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)
slang
dishonest; corrupt
(of goods) stolen
crazy; mad
British offensive homosexual
personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude
capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent)
civil engineering a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it
British Dictionary definitions for bent (2 of 2)
/ (bɛnt) /
short for bent grass
a stalk of bent grass
archaic any stiff grass or sedge
Scot and Northern English dialect heath or moorland
Origin of bent
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse