# banter

Pronunciation: US say "BAN-tur" /ˈbæntɚ/; UK/AUS say "BAN-tuh" /ˈbæntə/

## Noun

1. Quick-witted, good-humored, playful conversation, usually made up on the spot.
   - Simple: Friendly, funny talk in which people joke with each other quickly.
   - _Dinner was full of easy banter between old college friends._
   - _What starts as harmless banter can turn hurtful once one person stops laughing._
4. Good-humored patter and conversation starters used by people whose work brings them into frequent contact with the public, such as store clerks, salespeople and nurses.
   - Simple: Friendly chat that workers like store clerks or nurses use with the people they serve.
   - _The salesman's practiced banter put customers at ease long before he mentioned a price._
   - _Pediatric nurses pick up a little gentle banter to distract children from the needle._

## Verb

2. To take part in banter, trading playful and joking remarks in conversation.
   - Simple: To talk with someone in a playful, joking way.
   - _The two quarterbacks bantered good-naturedly at the joint press conference._
   - _Regulars at the counter banter with the cook while he flips pancakes._
3. To tease someone mildly.
   - Simple: To tease someone in a gentle, friendly way.
   - _The crew bantered the new recruit about his spotless boots._
   - _Don't banter him too much about his height; he's sensitive about it._
5. To joke about or ridicule a trait, habit or similar quality.
   - Simple: To make jokes about a habit or quality that someone has.
6. To deceive someone into believing something false, or to play a prank on them.
   - Simple: To fool or trick someone, or to play a joke on them.
7. To challenge someone to a match or contest. *(dialectal, Southern, US, Western)*
   - Simple: To challenge someone to a game or contest.
   - _Old Jim bantered the stranger to a horse race down the county road._
   - _I'll banter any one of you boys to an arm-wrestling match._
8. To haggle over something in order to bring its price down. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: To argue about a price to make it lower.
   - _She bantered with the stallholder until he took two pounds off the rug._
   - _There's no use trying to banter in that shop, because the prices are fixed._

## Origin

First recorded as a verb in the 1670s and as a noun in the 1680s, banter is of unknown origin. It may come from London street slang, perhaps formed as *bant + the frequentative suffix -er, or possibly from Irish bean, "woman", so that banter would mean "talk of women".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/banter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).