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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

Australian migration agent Mark Welch said there was a pent up demand following Brexit, which was combined with those who weren't able to go because of Covid-19.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2025

Having been pent up for so long, friendless and homesick, they go wild in the safety of Luna’s generic apartment, which scenic designer Tanya Orellana furnishes with makeshift graduate school touches.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025

“Post-COVID, we got this big influx of revenge travel, where everyone’s so pent up indoors and they’re just like, ‘Get me out there,’ ” McElroy explains.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2024

There was a hundred years of speech, pent up, bursting to erupt.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

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.