ant
any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution especially in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.
Idioms about ant
have ants in one's pants, Slang. to be impatient or eager to act or speak.
Origin of ant
1Other words from ant
- antlike, adjective
Words that may be confused with ant
- ant , aunt
Other definitions for an't (2 of 6)
Chiefly British Dialect. contraction of am not.
Dialect. ain't.
Origin of an't
2Other definitions for ant- (3 of 6)
variant of anti- before a vowel or h:antacid; anthelmintic.
Other definitions for -ant (4 of 6)
a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs, occurring originally in French and Latin loanwords (pleasant; constant; servant) and productive in English on this model; -ant has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of” that named by the stem (ascendant; pretendant), especially in the formation of nouns denoting human agents in legal actions or other formal procedures (tenant; defendant; applicant; contestant). In technical and commercial coinages, -ant is a suffix of nouns denoting impersonal physical agents (propellant; lubricant; deodorant). In general, -ant can be added only to bases of Latin origin, with a very few exceptions, as coolant.
Origin of -ant
4- See also -ent.
Other definitions for ant. (5 of 6)
antenna
antonym.
Other definitions for Ant. (6 of 6)
Antarctica.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ant in a sentence
In the U.S. view a small group—or cadre—of fierce red ants have taken power and are opposing the black-ant majority.
Whit Stillman on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Barcelona’, His New Amazon Series, and the Myth of the Ugly Expat | Michael Weiss | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTed points out a small patch in the grass where there are some red ants.
Whit Stillman on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Barcelona’, His New Amazon Series, and the Myth of the Ugly Expat | Michael Weiss | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOr how leaf-cutter ants cultivate a specific type of fungus so precious it is carried by the queen when she starts a new colony.
Jared Diamond Talks About His New Book for Young Readers | William O’Connor | April 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDr. Tanning assured me that these feelings were not just ANTS (“automatic negative thoughts,” in therapy parlance).
Then, a joke was rewriting the lunchroom menu to include "scrambled snails" and “fried ants.”
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon | Robert Sam Anson | March 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They destroy ants and spiders and other creeping things, so that Alila's mother never kills them nor drives them away.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeThe most destructive insects are the ants, and every variety of them that can hurt vegetable life is to be found here.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamThe solitary ants, on the contrary, manifest no special intelligence, and do not rise above the general insect level.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisA few days later she was prouder still when they scampered this way and that, pecking at little bugs and ants.
Seven O'Clock Stories | Robert Gordon AndersonAnother poison is of a pale glue color, which is supposed by Stanley to be made of crushed red ants.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
British Dictionary definitions for ant (1 of 4)
/ (ænt) /
any small social insect of the widely distributed hymenopterous family Formicidae, typically living in highly organized colonies of winged males, wingless sterile females (workers), and fertile females (queens), which are winged until after mating: See also army ant, fire ant, slave ant, wood ant Related adjective: formic
white ant another name for a termite
have ants in one's pants slang to be restless or impatient
Origin of ant
1British Dictionary definitions for an't (2 of 4)
British Dictionary definitions for ant- (3 of 4)
a variant of anti- antacid
British Dictionary definitions for -ant (4 of 4)
causing or performing an action or existing in a certain condition; the agent that performs an action: pleasant; claimant; deodorant; protestant; servant
Origin of -ant
4Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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