bantam

noun

ban·tam | \ ˈban-təm

Definition of bantam

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : any of numerous small domestic fowls that are often miniatures of members of the standard breeds

2 : a person of diminutive stature and often combative disposition

bantam

adjective

Definition of bantam (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : small, diminutive

2 : pertly combative

Bantam

geographical name

Ban·tam | \ ˈban-təm

Definition of Bantam (Entry 3 of 3)

former town of Indonesia in the northwestern corner of Java; once capital of the Sultanate of Bantam

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about bantam

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Examples of bantam in a Sentence

Adjective

a bantam comedian who is known to fellow performers for his oversize ego

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Many layer, broiler, and dual-purpose breeds are available as standards or bantams. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Raising Backyard Chickens," 14 Aug. 2018 Many layer, broiler, and dual-purpose breeds are available as standards or bantams. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Raising Backyard Chickens," 14 Aug. 2018 Many layer, broiler, and dual-purpose breeds are available as standards or bantams. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Raising Backyard Chickens," 14 Aug. 2018 Eventually, ispace aims to set up a robotic lunar transportation service and use its bantam rovers to identify and help exploit the resources available on Earth's nearest neighbor, such as water ice. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "Japanese Startup ispace to Launch Moon Lander Missions on SpaceX Rockets," 26 Sep. 2018 Many breeds come in two sizes: standard (also known as large breed) and bantam, which are typically one-quarter the size of standard birds. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Raising Backyard Chickens," 14 Aug. 2018 Many layer, broiler, and dual-purpose breeds are available as standards or bantams. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Raising Backyard Chickens," 14 Aug. 2018 If all goes according to plan, these bantam pioneers will get up-close looks at Proxima b, the possibly habitable planet that circles the sun's nearest star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "Interstellar Travel Requires a Long-Term Approach (and Humans Are Too Impatient)," 10 Aug. 2018 His voice, clipped and nasal, had a bantam toughness, and his sentences (in life, not literature) make regular detours from formidable erudition into the slangy and profane. — Mark Binelli, New York Times, "Is the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town?," 27 Mar. 2018

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