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Synonyms

pent

1 American  
[pent] / pɛnt /

verb

  1. a simple past tense and past participle of pen.

adjective

  1. shut in; confined.

pent 2 American  
[pent] / pɛnt /

noun

  1. penthouse.

Pent. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. Pentecost.

pent British  
/ pɛnt /

verb

  1. a past tense and past participle of pen 2

"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

Etymology

Origin of pent1

First recorded in 1535–45; late Middle English pente, pent, past participle of obsolete pend, variant of pennen “to enclose, confine”; pen 2

Origin of pent2

By shortening

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.

“There isn’t a lot of pent up inflationary pressure in the economy,” Macklem said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Aswan remembers taking her driving theory test: "I got so pent up about passing it first time that when I failed by a couple of points I've never tried to get it back."

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

Toxic energy and animosity get pent up, and carried out into the yard.

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

Jefferson played with the ferocity of nearly two years of pent up football frustration.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2024

I could feel it, and smell it, pent up there, behind the clouds.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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.