bent on

adjective

curved; crooked: a bent bow; a bent stick.

determined; set; resolved (usually followed by on ): to be bent on buying a new car.

Chiefly British Slang.

morally crooked; corrupt.

stolen: bent merchandise.

homosexual.

noun

direction taken, as by one's interests; inclination: a bent for painting.

capacity of endurance: to work at the top of one's bent.

Civil Engineering. a transverse frame, as of a bridge or an aqueduct, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads.

Archaic. bent state or form; curvature.

Relevant Questions

How To Fix Bent Rims

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Bent on is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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Origin:
1525–35; orig. past participle of bend¹

Synonyms
1. bowed, flexed. 2. fixed. 4. tendency, propensity, proclivity, predilection, penchant, partiality, leaning, bias.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bent on

Collins

World English Dictionary

bent¹ (bɛnt)

—*adj*
1.	not straight; curved
2.	(foll by on) fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)
3.	slang
	a. dishonest; corrupt
	b. (of goods) stolen
	c. crazy; mad
	d. offensive (Brit) homosexual

—n
4.	personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude
5.	capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent)
6.	civil engineering a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it

bent² (bɛnt)

—n
1.	short for bent grass
2.	a stalk of bent grass
3.	archaic any stiff grass or sedge
4.	dialect (Scot), (Northern English) heath or moorland

[Old English bionot; related to Old Saxon binet, Old High German binuz rush]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

bent

"mental inclination," 1570s, from the adj., "not straight" (late 14c.), originally pp. of bend. The verb meaning "directed in a course" is from 1690s. Phrase bent out of shape "extremely upset" is 1960s Air Force and college student slang.

bent

"stiff grass," O.E. beonet, from W.Gmc. *binut- "rush, marsh grass" (cf. Ger. binse "rush, reed"), of unknown origin. An obsolete word, but surviving in place names (cf. Bentley, from O.E. Beonet-leah).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

bend (běnd)
v. bent (běnt), bend·ing, bends
To incline the body; stoop.

Slang Dictionary

bent definition

mod.
alcohol or drug intoxicated. : I've never seen two guys so bent.
mod.
dishonest; crooked. : I'm afraid that Paul is a little bent. He cheats on his taxes.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

bent on

Also, bent upon. Determined, resolved, as in Jamie is bent on winning the math prize. This phrase, first recorded in 1762, always uses the past participle of the verb bend in the sense of "tend toward."

Matching Quote

"Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it."

-unknown author

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