# pant

Pronunciation: say "PANT" /pænt/

## Verb

1. To breathe quickly or with effort, often after exertion or from excitement.
   - Simple: To breathe fast and hard, usually after running or hard work.
   - _Runners pant heavily as they cross the finish line._
   - _He panted up the last flight of stairs, clutching the railing._
4. To long eagerly; to desire something earnestly.
   - Simple: To want something very strongly.
   - _The whole town panted for news from the front._
   - _Investors pant for any sign that rates will fall._
7. To rise and fall heavily, as the chest does during labored breathing.
   - Simple: To rise and fall, as the chest does when breathing hard.
   - _Her breast panted beneath the tight bodice as she hurried on._
   - _Swimmers' chests pant hard as they haul themselves from the pool._
8. Of the heart, to beat with abnormal force or speed; to palpitate.
   - Simple: Of the heart, to beat very fast and hard.
   - _His heart panted wildly in the moments before the verdict._
   - _Frightened animals' hearts pant against their ribs._
9. To sigh, flutter, or languish, as with longing or weariness.
   - Simple: To sigh softly, or to seem weak and full of longing.
   - _She panted and sighed at the window, watching the road._
   - _Faint hearts pant and grow weak under such sorrow._
11. Of an iron hull or similar structure, to bulge outward and contract inward in succession.
   - Simple: Of a ship's metal sides, to swell out and pull in over and over.
   - _The plating panted with each pounding wave._
   - _Older steamers' hulls pant under the stress of rough water._

## Noun

2. A pair of pants (trousers or underpants) referred to in the singular.
   - Simple: A single piece of clothing worn on the lower body, with a part for each leg.
   - _The catalog lists each pant by waist size and inseam._
   - _Buyers ordered the new pant in bulk for the spring season._
3. A quick breath or gasp; the rapid breathing of an animal such as a dog with its tongue out, used to cool the body.
   - Simple: A quick breath or gasp, like the fast breathing a dog makes with its tongue out.
   - _Between pants, the runner managed a few words._
   - _The hound let out a long pant in the summer heat._
5. An eager longing or yearning.
   - Simple: A strong wish or longing for something.
   - _There was a clear pant for recognition in his early letters._
   - _Her pant for the sea never faded, even far inland._
6. Relating to pants, or belonging to the structure of a pair of pants.
   - Simple: Having to do with pants, or being a part of them.
   - _The pant hem had frayed after years of wear._
   - _A grease stain spread across the right pant leg._
10. Any public drinking fountain freely available to the people of a town.
   - Simple: A public fountain where people can drink water, used in some areas.
   - _The old pant in the market square still runs clear._
   - _Locals met each morning at the pant to chat and fill their pails._

## Noun

12. A violent palpitation or pounding of the heart. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A sudden, strong pounding of the heart.

## Verb

13. To long for something intensely, as though breathless with desire. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To want something very much.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–5, 7–9, 11–13** — From Middle English panten (source also of dialectal English pank). It possibly comes from Old French pantoyer, a byform of pantoisier ("to be breathless") (compare modern French panteler, "to gasp for breath"), of uncertain origin. It may go back to Vulgar Latin *pantasiō ("struggling for breath in a nightmare"), from Ancient Greek phantasióō ("I am subject to hallucinations"), from phantasía ("appearance, image, fantasy").
**Meanings 2, 6** — Formed from "pants."

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