pant

[pant]

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verb (used without object)

to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion.

to gasp, as for air.

to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn: to pant for revenge.

to throb or heave violently or rapidly; palpitate.

to emit steam or the like in loud puffs.

Nautical. (of the bow or stern of a ship) to work with the shock of contact with a succession of waves.Compare work(def 24).

verb (used with object)

to breathe or utter gaspingly.

noun

the act of panting.

a short, quick, labored effort at breathing; gasp.

a puff, as of an engine.

a throb or heave, as of the breast.

Origin of pant

1400–50; late Middle English panten < Middle French pant(a)is(i)er < Vulgar Latin *phantasiāre to have visions < Greek phantasioûn to have or form images. See fantasy

Related formspant·ing·ly, adverbun·pant·ing, adjective

Synonyms for pant

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pant ON THESAURUS.COM

1. puff, blow. Pant, gasp suggest breathing with more effort than usual. Pant suggests rapid, convulsive breathing, as from violent exertion or excitement: to pant after running for the train. Gasp suggests catching one's breath in a single quick intake, as from amazement, terror, and the like, or a series of such quick intakes of breath, as in painful breathing: to gasp with horror; to gasp for breath. 3. thirst, hunger.

pant

[pant]

adjective

of or relating to pants: pant cuffs.

noun

pant leg.

pants(defs 1, 2).

Origin of pant

First recorded in 1890–95; singular of pants

pant-

variant of panto- before a vowel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pant

blow, breathe, palpitate, huff, throb, whiff, chuff, gulp, snort, puff, wheeze, heave, wind, desire, lust, hunger, sigh, covet, crave, pine

Examples from the Web for pant

Contemporary Examples of pant

This requires him to pant, bark, fetch, and lick Julia Roberts.
Is ‘Mirror Mirror’ Starring Julia Roberts the Worst Movie of the Year?
Ramin Setoodeh
March 30, 2012

Historical Examples of pant

Why, in a little while we wanted to hold our mouths open and pant like a dog.
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He was out of breath with whispering; I could hear him pant slightly.
The Secret Sharer
Joseph Conrad
I pant for a plantation which shall shelter and not suffocate.
The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba
Walter Goodman
Her head drooped back and her parted lips seemed to pant and glow.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
“Bullets,” said Harry, who began to pant with excitement, as he made for the door.
In the Mahdi's Grasp
George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for pant

pant

verb

to breathe with noisy deep gasps, as when out of breath from exertion or excitement

to say (something) while breathing thus

(intr often foll by for) to have a frantic desire (for); yearn

(intr) to pulsate; throb rapidly

noun

the act or an instance of panting

a short deep gasping noise; puff

Word Origin for pant

C15: from Old French pantaisier, from Greek phantasioun to have visions, from phantasia fantasy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pant

mid-15c., perhaps a shortening of Old French pantaisier "gasp, puff, pant, be out of breath, be in distress" (12c.), probably from Vulgar Latin *pantasiare "be oppressed with a nightmare, struggle for breathing during a nightmare," literally "to have visions," from Greek phantasioun "have or form images, subject to hallucinations," from phantasia "appearance, image, fantasy" (see phantasm). Related: Panted; panting.

"a gasping breath," c.1500, from pant (v.).

pant in Medicine

pant

[pănt]

v.

To breathe rapidly and shallowly.