pant

¹

[pant]

verb (used without object)

1. to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion.

   Synonyms: vibrate, throb, pulse, pulsate, pound, blow, wheeze, puff, heave

2. to gasp, as for air.

3. to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn.

   to pant for revenge.

   Synonyms: covet, thirst, hunger, hanker

4. to throb or heave violently or rapidly; palpitate.

5. to emit steam or the like in loud puffs.

6. 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)

1. to breathe or utter gaspingly.

noun

1. the act of panting.

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

3. a puff, as of an engine.

4. a throb or heave, as of the breast.

pant

²

[pant]

adjective

1. of or relating to pants.

   pant cuffs.

noun

1. pant leg.

2. pants.

pant-

³

1. variant of panto- before a vowel.

pant

/ pænt /

verb

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

2. to say (something) while breathing thus

3. to have a frantic desire (for); yearn

4. (intr) to pulsate; throb rapidly

noun

1. the act or an instance of panting

2. a short deep gasping noise; puff

Other Word Forms

• pantingly adverb
• unpanting adjective

Word History and Origins

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”; fantasy

Origin of pant²

First recorded in 1890–95; singular of pants

Word History and Origins

Origin of pant¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Customers are paired with a stylist who then picks out tops, pants, dresses and more and sends them in a box.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sometimes, the feds couldn’t either: One informant, resting his legs on the desk of mob boss Joey Merlino, had the wire to the wiretap hanging from the bottom of his pants leg.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On travel forums, tourists are encouraged to ditch bikinis and hot pants for more modest attire.

Read more on BBC

Gus, who has been described as an adventurous but shy boy, was last seen wearing a grey hat, light grey long pants, boots and a blue long-sleeve T-shirt featuring a yellow Minion character.

Read more on BBC

He woke up in his unit sore with his pants hanging by his knees, bleeding.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• breathe heavily www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

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-.