pant
verb (used without object)
to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion.
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pant
1 American
[pant]
/ pænt /
verb (used without object)
-
pants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
panted,
past participle, past
-
panting
present participle
-
to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion.
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to gasp, as for air.
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to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn.
to pant for revenge.
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to throb or heave violently or rapidly; palpitate.
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to emit steam or the like in loud puffs.
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Nautical. (of the bow or stern of a ship) to work with the shock of contact with a succession of waves.
verb (used with object)
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pants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
panted,
past participle, past
-
panting
present participle
noun
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the act of panting.
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a short, quick, labored effort at breathing; gasp.
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a puff, as of an engine.
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a throb or heave, as of the breast.
pant-
3
American
pant
British
/ pænt /
verb
-
to breathe with noisy deep gasps, as when out of breath from exertion or excitement
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to say (something) while breathing thus
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to have a frantic desire (for); yearn
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(intr) to pulsate; throb rapidly
noun
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the act or an instance of panting
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a short deep gasping noise; puff
Usage
What does pant- mean? Pant- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “all.” It is occasionally used in a variety of scientific and technical terms. Pant- comes from the Greek pâs, meaning “all.” The equivalent form derived from Latin is omni-, as in omnivore, which comes from Latin omnis, “all.”What are variants of pan-?Pant- is a variant of panto-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Another common variant of pant- is pan-, as in panhuman. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on pan- and panto-.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pantsimple
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pantssimple
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have pantedperfect
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has pantedperfect
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am pantingprogressive
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are pantingprogressive
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is pantingprogressive
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have been pantingperfect progressive
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has been pantingperfect progressive
Past
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pantedsimple
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had pantedperfect
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was pantingprogressive
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were pantingprogressive
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had been pantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pant1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb panten, from Old French pant(a)is(i)er, from unattested Vulgar Latin phantasiāre “to have visions,” from Greek phantasioûn “to have or form images”; see fantasy
Origin of pant2
First recorded in 1890–95; singular of pants
Explanation
When you breathe hard and fast, you pant. It's perfectly normal to pant after you finish running a marathon — or even after chasing your runaway dog through the neighborhood. You might pause at the top of a hill to pant and catch your breath before you continue on your hike. That loud, gasping breath itself is also a pant — but when this noun is plural, it means trousers, slacks, or jeans. Be careful, though — in parts of the UK, pants are primarily women's undergarments. Any pants you wear on you body come from pantaloons, which in the 1600s meant tights.
Vocabulary lists containing pant
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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"The Jewels of the Shrine" and "Remembered"
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Across So Many Seas
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"They pant after running just 50 metres," she said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
While throwing, the chimpanzees pant hoot — a loud, long-distance communicative signal — and sometimes repeatedly hit their hands and feet on the tree in a behavior called buttress drumming.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
Legal experts have noted that consumers are unlikely to have any legal case against the retailer because the oversized dimensions of the pant legs put them in the category of obvious risk.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
These giant pants had these huge pockets in them, and I would put a big, gallon Ziploc bag with a clean T-shirt and clean socks inside the pant pocket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
“I think . . . I just need . . . water,” I pant.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Visions of youth whose reverence is scant, Who with the brutal verve of boyhood's prime Insist on being taken to the pant- -omime.
From Modern British Poetry by Louis Untermeyer
Weight also plays a role, so be careful if you send your 6-year-old down the slide in stretch pants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
"We also stripped down to our pants quite a lot," Brydon told The Times.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
The pants, made from stiffer denim, proved to be slightly easier, and the robot finished the task in a little over a minute.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Actual pants, made from the grocery store’s reusable bags.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The dorm is dark and heavy with sleep, but I can see she’s already dressed for the day in her thick wool sweater and waxed work pants.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
"I need to go back to the gym," he panted as the song ended.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
In exam rooms, elementary schoolers panted from fungal pneumonia, terrified by their breathlessness.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2025
It was warm enough that babies slept on their parents’ shoulders and dogs panted in their owners’ shadows.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 4, 2022
Wootton senior Helen Sarikulaya was still sweating when she hoisted the trophy and panted her congratulations to the rest of the team.
From Washington Post ● May 28, 2022
Smoke panted from fiery mouths that opened out of the ice .
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ms. McMillan, panting in the 93-degree heat, declared victory at his vehicle: “I knew you were going to get into this one. It had a Kentucky tag on it, baby!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Waiting for him at the end of each day’s journey was not a warm bed but another audience, panting for a performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
His breathing was heavy and he was panting, she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
They sit toe to toe on the gym floor, and Ilya offers a red-faced, panting Shane his water bottle.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026
Her daughter-in-law Maria, Yuri’s brother’s wife, charged in, panting after the run from her house.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
