pennant
Americannoun
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pennants
plural
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a long, tapering flag or burgee of distinctive form and special significance, borne on naval or other vessels and used in signaling or for identification.
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any relatively long, tapering flag.
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a flag serving as an emblem of victory or championship, especially in baseball.
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Music. hook.
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Nautical. pendant.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pennant
Explanation
A pennant is a long flag that tapers at one end. You might see a pennant flying on a navy ship, being waved in the crowd of spectators at a baseball game, or hanging on a sporty kid’s bedroom wall. Nautical pennants were the original triangular or tapered flags, and they are still flown on most active warships. Sporting pennants also have a long history, and were once commonly given as prizes or trophies and waved by fans in the stands at high school and college sporting events. Sports teams can still win a pennant, but pennants are often purchased as souvenirs at games and wind up on fans’ walls.
Vocabulary lists containing pennant
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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:
The chase for baseball’s best pitcher, the hunt by baseball’s best team, the pennant race, the World Series, all of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, the real worry about the U.S. 10-year chart isn’t just the pennant pattern, it comes when you zoom way out, to put it in a generational perspective.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
The Braves are off to a good start in 2026 as they lead the National League East with an 18-8 record and are a good bet to contend for the league pennant.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Toronto Blue Jays threw more splitters than anybody in the sport and won the American League pennant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
I walked steadily toward the pennant pole amid a sea of susurrus murmurings.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
There was also no exchange of pennants between Republic of Ireland captain Dara O'Shea and Israel skipper Manor Solomon, who did not shake hands.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Many chart watchers believe pennants tend to appear around the middle of a trend.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
“He has been a staple to this organization, helping us to back-to-back NL pennants and was a key cog to our success last season. Chris will be an invaluable part to the team moving forward.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
He continued selling autographs at card shows, where he was usually swarmed by fans, and peddled “official” Pete Rose caps, posters, pennants, jerseys and bobbleheads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024
It was yellow slickers with writing on the back, college pennants, and plus fours.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Definitions 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.
