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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

A separate insurer that is owned by Amistad, named EquiTrust, also lent large sums to vehicles tied to the other three intermediaries, according to corporate filings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

For instance, library members could only borrow one book at a time, unless it could be proved that six people in the same household could read, in which case, three books could be lent out.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Kavinsky was a defining act of the Paris electronic scene of the 2000s and 2010s, whose neon-smeared synths and noirish atmospheres lent themselves to L.A. freeways and Montmartre nightclubs alike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

The Hormuz closure has only lent greater significance to the Red Sea, the only other maritime route for oil shipments from global heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Joanna lent me her camera, and I took it to the reunion.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

But a concerned relative persuaded her to join a campaign to give up alcohol during Khao Phansa, a three-month period of reflection observed by Buddhists akin to Christian Lent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

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

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

Fresh from a visit speaking to Oxford University students, she is currently arranging a Lent fundraiser.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

Lent also is the time that Christians remember that the pain of Christ’s death leads to the hope that is Easter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

They don’t know that I miss you more than I miss candy when Mom makes me give it up for Lent.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy