ant
1 of 6noun
ˈant 
: any of a family (Formicidae) of colonial hymenopterous insects with a complex social organization and various castes performing special duties
ant
2 of 6abbreviation (1)
1
antenna
2
antonym
Ant
3 of 6abbreviation (2)
Antarctica
ant-
4 of 6prefix
see anti-
-ant
5 of 6noun suffix
1
a
: one that performs (a specified action) : personal or impersonal agent
claimant
coolant
b
: thing that promotes (a specified action or process)
expectorant
2
: one connected with
annuitant
3
: thing acted upon (in a specified manner)
inhalant
-ant
6 of 6adjective suffix
1
: performing (a specified action) or being (in a specified condition)
somnambulant
2
: promoting (a specified action or process)
expectorant
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 14 July 2022 But my casts, using a flying ant imitation, went ignored by fish large and small. Chris Santella, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022 See different species of colorful beetles, ants and an ant mound, a cicada, butterflies, a firefly, a stink bug, a ladybug, a peacock jumping spider, a dragonfly, a walking stick, a katydid, a caterpillar and a hissing cockroach. The Courier-Journal, 10 Aug. 2022 Nyong'o's ant eating adventure is not the first time the actress has let fans into her unexpected adventures. Giovana Gelhoren, PEOPLE.com, 23 July 2022 Baby opossums, which are born the size of an ant, somehow manage to travel from the birth canal into their mother’s pouch. Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 20 July 2022 There have been several experiments with this particular type of desert ant. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 June 2022 After that comes the unsettling coda; out of the back of the ant’s tiny neck slithers a slender stroma, its surface bristling and primed to rain spores down upon the next group of unfortunate ants below. Doug Bierend, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2021 Few members of the general public have heard of the Libermans or their work, which has a looping, manic trajectory, like an ant’s climb up a candy cane. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 See More
Noun
Researchers published a paper on the ant’s bite in 2001 in Protein Spotlight. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 14 July 2022 But my casts, using a flying ant imitation, went ignored by fish large and small. Chris Santella, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022 See different species of colorful beetles, ants and an ant mound, a cicada, butterflies, a firefly, a stink bug, a ladybug, a peacock jumping spider, a dragonfly, a walking stick, a katydid, a caterpillar and a hissing cockroach. The Courier-Journal, 10 Aug. 2022 Nyong'o's ant eating adventure is not the first time the actress has let fans into her unexpected adventures. Giovana Gelhoren, PEOPLE.com, 23 July 2022 Baby opossums, which are born the size of an ant, somehow manage to travel from the birth canal into their mother’s pouch. Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 20 July 2022 There have been several experiments with this particular type of desert ant. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 June 2022 After that comes the unsettling coda; out of the back of the ant’s tiny neck slithers a slender stroma, its surface bristling and primed to rain spores down upon the next group of unfortunate ants below. Doug Bierend, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2021 Few members of the general public have heard of the Libermans or their work, which has a looping, manic trajectory, like an ant’s climb up a candy cane. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English ante, emete, from Old English æmette; akin to Old High German āmeiza ant
Noun suffix
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from -ant, present participle suffix, from Latin -ant-, -ans, present participle suffix of first conjugation, from -a- (stem vowel of first conjugation) + -nt-, -ns, present participle suffix; akin to Old English -nde, present participle suffix, Greek -nt-, -n, participle suffix
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing ant
Kids Definition
ant 1 of 5
noun
ˈant
: a small insect related to the bees and wasps that lives in colonies and forms nests in the ground or in wood in which it stores food and raises its young
ant.
2 of 5abbreviation
antonym
ant-
3 of 5see anti-
-ant
4 of 5noun suffix
ənt
1
: one that does or causes a certain thing
deodorant
2
: thing that is acted upon in a certain way
-ant
5 of 5adjective suffix
1
: doing a certain thing or being a certain way
observant
2
: causing a certain action