ant

noun

\ˈant

Definition of ant

(Entry 1 of 6)

: any of a family (Formicidae) of colonial hymenopterous insects with a complex social organization and various castes performing special duties

ants in one's pants

: impatience for action or activity : restlessness

ant

abbreviation (1)

Definition of ant (Entry 2 of 6)

1 antenna

2 antonym

Ant

abbreviation (2)

Definition of Ant (Entry 3 of 6)

Antarctica

ant-

prefix

Definition of ant- (Entry 4 of 6)

— see anti-

-ant

noun suffix

Definition of -ant (Entry 5 of 6)

1a : 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

adjective suffix

Definition of -ant (Entry 6 of 6)

1 : performing (a specified action) or being (in a specified condition) somnambulant

2 : promoting (a specified action or process) expectorant

Examples of ant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Then there are the fungi that live inside ants, controlling their movements before killing them. — Gregory Katz, The Seattle Times, "Royal Botanic Garden seeks respect for world’s fungus," 11 Sep. 2018 Study lead author Martin Nyffeler, a zoologist at the University of Basel in Switzerland, said that birds – along with other natural enemies such as spiders and ants – contribute greatly to natural insect pest suppression. — Doyle Rice, ajc, "Yum! Birds eat up to 550 million tons of insects each year," 9 July 2018 Turns out there’s plenty of buzz about bugs, such as ways to manage pests and the interactions among, say, ants and plants and ticks and humans. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "This website is crawling with bug news," 17 June 2018 Levin is genuinely fascinated by animals, but that fascination is comingled with fear (of mountain lions and coyotes) and disdain (for lice and ants and, yes, raccoons). — David Ferry, San Francisco Chronicle, "Food critic Rachel Levin contemplates close encounters of the animal kind," 7 June 2018 My eyes watched the busy ground, flexing with ant highways and beetles, jumpy locusts and white butterflies. — Andrew Evans, chicagotribune.com, "Feel the pull of the prairie on a uniquely American safari in Montana," 5 July 2018 An official statement said an emergency Cabinet meeting held late on Thursday and chaired by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi named the country's ant-graft chief as the commission's leader. — Fox News, "Iraq to probe possible irregularities in May 12 elections," 25 May 2018 His job was to look at society as an ant farm—population: several billion—and wonder how to ethically steer and manipulate the human mind. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, "It's Time for Tech Companies to Build More Humane Products," 20 Mar. 2018 Some of the most popular items on birds' menus include beetles, flies, ants, moths, aphids, grasshoppers and crickets. — Doyle Rice, ajc, "Yum! Birds eat up to 550 million tons of insects each year," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for ant

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

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Statistics for ant

Last Updated

18 Nov 2018

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Time Traveler for ant

The first known use of ant was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for ant

ant

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ant

(Entry 1 of 3)

: a kind of small insect that lives in an organized social group

-ant

noun suffix

English Language Learners Definition of -ant (Entry 2 of 3)

: a person or thing that does a specified thing

-ant

adjective suffix

English Language Learners Definition of -ant (Entry 3 of 3)

: doing a specified thing or behaving in a specified way

See the full definition for -ant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ant

noun

\ˈant

Kids Definition of ant

: 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