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pant1

[pant]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion.
  2. to gasp, as for air.
  3. to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn: to pant for revenge.
  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.Compare work(def 24).
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verb (used with object)
  1. to breathe or utter gaspingly.
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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.
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Origin of pant1

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

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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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

heavinggaspinglonginghungerlustyearningpassioncravinggasppalpitationhyperpneahyperventilationdyspneabreathlessshort-winded

Examples from the Web for panting

Historical Examples

  • Panting, she undid the scarf and flooded the room with light.

    Jennie Baxter, Journalist

    Robert Barr

  • Panting for breath I blundered at the task of connecting the light.

  • Panting, completely exhausted, Ken forced his brain to the question.

    Under Arctic Ice

    H.G. Winter

  • Panting and breathless he defended himself as best he could.

  • Panting and crouching, Winterslea groped his way among them.

British Dictionary definitions for panting

pant

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. (intr often foll by for) to have a frantic desire (for); yearn
  4. (intr) to pulsate; throb rapidly
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of panting
  2. a short deep gasping noise; puff
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Word Origin

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 panting

pant

v.

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.

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pant

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
panting in Medicine

pant

(pănt)
v.
  1. To breathe rapidly and shallowly.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.