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ant

ANT/ænt/

Pluralants

Verbants, anting, anted

3 meanings of ant

Practice

  1. 1
    insectnouncountable
    A small insect that lives in large groups and builds nests in the ground.

    Like a tiny worker that is always part of a huge team.

    An ant carried a crumb twice its size back toward the nest.

    Ants marched in a long line across the kitchen floor.

  2. 2
    feather cleaningverbintransitive
    To rub insects, especially ants, onto the body, which some birds do to clean their feathers.

    Like putting on bug spray, except the bird uses live insects.

    Some birds ant by rubbing live ants on their feathers.

    The jay was anting in the grass on a warm afternoon.

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 3
    nounrare
    A computer program that moves around the Web on its own to collect information.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Old English ǣmete, meaning "ant." The older roots probably meant "biting-thing" or "cutter," from words meaning "off, away" plus "to cut."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact