Showing results for "lent"

• past participle of lend.
• past tense form of lend.

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• lent
  lent

  verb

  simple past tense and past participle of lend.
• Lent
  Lent

  noun

  (in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, and certain other churches.
• -lent
  -lent

  a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, variant of -ulent.

lent

¹ American  

[lent] / lɛnt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of lend.

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Lent ² American  

[lent] / lɛnt /

noun

1. (in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, and certain other churches.

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-lent ³ American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, variant of -ulent.

   pestilent.

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Lent ¹ British  

/ lɛnt /

noun

1. Christianity the period of forty weekdays lasting from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, observed as a time of penance and fasting commemorating Jesus' fasting in the wilderness

2. (modifier) falling within or associated with the season before Easter

   Lent observance

3. (plural) (at Cambridge University) Lent term boat races

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lent ² British  

/ lɛnt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of lend

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Lent Cultural  

1. In Christianity, a time of fasting and repentance in the spring, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending several weeks later on Easter.

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Usage

What is Lent? Lent is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity. It is commonly observed by abstaining from certain things.

Discover More

To “give something up for Lent” is to abandon a pleasurable habit as an act of devotion and self-discipline.

Other Word Forms

• post-Lent
  adjective
• unlent
  adjective
• well-lent
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Lent

First recorded before 900; Middle English leynte, Old English læncte “spring, springtime, Lent,” literally, “lengthening (of daylight hours)”; cognate with Dutch lente(n), German Lenz “spring” (only English has the ecclesiastical sense); see origin at Lenten, long ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lent Lent

Another alleged victim lent $320,000 to Nguyen, who promised to repay the money with rates of 4 to 6% interest, Santander wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

But he added that companies' attempts to get ahead of planned tariff hikes "likely lent a hand."

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

Based on Clearwater’s findings, The Wall Street Journal calculated that life insurers industrywide lent about $24 billion to funds in which they owned stakes valued at roughly $12 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

The guitar also appears on the cover of Oasis' debut single, Supersonic, after Marr lent it to Noel Gallagher during recording sessions for Definitely Maybe.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

“Well, I wanted to tell you that the violin you’ve been playing...you know it’s been in my family for many generations, right? Well, I had lent Luciana that violin too. But then, when she died...”

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Vance, 41, committed to the diet for Lent earlier this year, and has stuck with it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

"With this release, U2 has bookended Lent with two very different collections."

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

It concludes a 40-day period known as Lent, during which Christians focus on prayer, almsgiving, and practice traditions such as abstinence from eating meat on certain days.

From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026

Do Catholics really fast on Fridays during Lent, I had to wonder.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025

What are we to give up when we have Lent all year long?

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt