anted
- 1Simple past and past participle of ante.
The gambler anted his last chips and waited for the deal.
Everyone at the table had anted before the first round began.
Note
A spelling that saves an e: anteed is the fuller past of ante, and anted is the shorter variant. Either one serves the poker sense and its phrasal form, so a player anted up or anteed up. Both also carry the figurative sense of committing money, effort or time before the odds are known. On the page, anted can also be the bird-behavior verb, so context decides which is meant.
- 2SayAN-tid/ˈæntɪd/Simple past and past participle of ant.
The crow anted among the leaf litter, working ants into its plumage.
Researchers recorded that the jay had anted repeatedly before grooming itself.
Note
Here the verb comes straight from the insect. A bird that has anted has rubbed ants over its body, perhaps to control parasites or to clean its feathers. The ants are understood, so the verb normally needs no object: the jay anted. It is an ordinary regular form, unrelated in origin to the poker past tense that happens to share its spelling.
anted is a form of ant
ant, verb: To rub ants or other insects over the body or feathers, possibly as a way of removing parasites or cleaning. Full entry
- Spelling
- ant → anted: add -ed
Practice
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