bantam

[ ban-tuhm ]
See synonyms for bantam on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (often initial capital letter) a chicken of any of several varieties or breeds characterized by very small size.

  2. a small and feisty or quarrelsome person.

adjective
  1. diminutive; tiny: bantam editions of the classics.

Origin of bantam

1
1740–50; apparently after Bantam, through which such chickens may have been imported to Europe

Other words for bantam

Words Nearby bantam

Other definitions for Bantam (2 of 2)

Bantam
[ ban-tuhm; Dutch bahn-tahm ]

noun
  1. a village in W Java, in S Indonesia: first Dutch settlement in the East Indies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bantam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bantam

bantam

/ (ˈbæntəm) /


noun
  1. any of various very small breeds of domestic fowl

  2. a small but aggressive person

  1. boxing short for bantamweight

  2. Canadian

    • an age level of between 13 and 15 in amateur sport, esp ice hockey

    • (as modifier): bantam hockey

Origin of bantam

1
C18: after Bantam village in Java, said to be the original home of this fowl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012