pendant
Americannoun
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pendants
plural
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a hanging ornament, as an earring or the main piece suspended from a necklace.
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an ornament suspended from a roof, vault, or ceiling.
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a hanging electrical lighting fixture; chandelier.
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that by which something is suspended, as the ringed stem of a watch.
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a match, parallel, companion, or counterpart.
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Nautical. Also a length of rope attached to a masthead, the end of a yardarm, etc., and having a block or thimble secured to its free end.
adjective
noun
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an ornament that hangs from a piece of jewellery
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a necklace with such an ornament
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a hanging light, esp a chandelier
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a carved ornament that is suspended from a ceiling or roof
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something that matches or complements something else
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Also called: pennant. nautical a length of wire or rope secured at one end to a mast or spar and having a block or other fitting at the lower end
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pendant
1300–50; Middle English pendaunt < Anglo-French; Middle French pendant, noun use of present participle of pendre to hang < Vulgar Latin *pendere for Latin pendēre. See pend, -ant
Explanation
If you’re wearing a necklace with a large gold heart on a delicate chain, then you have a pendant, an ornament that hangs on a chain. The word pendant traces back to the Latin word, pendere, meaning "to hang," which tips you off that pendant is a word describing something that hangs, like an ornament that hangs on a chain or a type of light that hangs from the ceiling. As an adjective, pendant means "held from above," like the pendant rock formations that hang from the cave's ceiling.
Vocabulary lists containing pendant
Stargirl
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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On the Come Up
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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 Financial Times previously reported some details of the new Meta glasses feature and The Information earlier reported on the company’s work on a potential AI pendant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The top lifts off and converts into a pendant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
"Nicola did wear that pendant quite often and you can see it on television and we're very popular of the fact that she was wearing a bit of Shetland Jewellery," he said.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
During the trip to Shetland Jewellery as part of a by-election campaign, he bought her a 9ct gold pendant depicting the Northern Lights.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
There it was, the other ear pendant, framing my face and winking at me.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The foundation has provided identifying details to authorities, including distinctive snake-shaped rings and pendants worn by many pilgrims.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
She transforms a rainbow of blossoms into hair adornments, earrings, necklace pendants and rings, treating her homegrown organic materials like precious gems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
"We recovered two pendants: one made from a shell and another from a brown bear tooth," said Tornero.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
His focus was gems from ancient Greece and Rome, carved with intricate figures, sometimes images of the gods or portraits, which were worn as pendants in jewellery and used as sealstones in rings.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“I know you thought the red in our pendants was ugly, but...I wanted to show you that in another light, it could be quite beautiful.”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
