banter

verb

ban·ter | \ˈban-tər

bantered; bantering; banters

Definition of banter

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to speak to or address in a witty and teasing manner She laughed and bantered him a little, remembering too late that she should have been dignified and reserved.— Kate Chopin

2 archaic : delude

3 chiefly Southern US and Midland US : challenge

intransitive verb

: to speak or act playfully or wittily The two friends bantered with each other.

banter

noun

Definition of banter (Entry 2 of 2)

: good-natured and usually witty and animated joking listening to their lively banter

Other Words from banter Synonyms Can banter be vicious? More Example Sentences Learn More about banter

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Can banter be vicious?

Noun

Banter refers to a form of jesting or to the act of exchanging joking repartee. Although the word once meant “ridicule,” and though it has a regional sense "a challenge or dare" (as in, "he performed a banter [or banner], jumping from the roof onto the snowbank"), in modern use it usually refers to a light-hearted form of wit. You would not be wrong to say that someone engages in “cruel banter,” if that is what is intended, but the word is far more often encountered in combination with modifiers such as witty, friendly, or lighthearted.

Examples of banter in a Sentence

Verb

the teacher bantered pleasantly, albeit a bit awkwardly, with the students at the school dance

Noun

I enjoyed hearing their good-natured banter. members of the Algonquin Round Table were known for their brilliant and witty banter

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

From across the red police tape, the young patrol officer in the street bantered with a group of mostly teenage boys and two girls in the park. — Hannah Leone, chicagotribune.com, "After Gage Park shooting, 'You're just a little young to be out here'," 24 June 2018 Both are constantly bouncing jokes off each other and bantering away the long hours. — Longreads, "Tennis vs. Tennis," 13 July 2018 Your professor holds forth in class, lecturing, orating, gesturing, bantering — equal parts pedagogue and performer. — Alfred Lubrano, Philly.com, "After complaints, Ratemyprofessors.com does away with its 'hotness' ratings," 11 July 2018 On a recent Friday afternoon, the crew at Station 31 bantered while eating lunch at the dining table. — Sarah Wu, The Seattle Times, "Is Station 31 making Seattle firefighters sick? Study hopes to find answers about ‘Cancer House’," 6 July 2018 Shortly after 5pm, German recording artist NoMBe, also a client of Udell's, bantered with the crowd while the soundmen worked out a few kinks. — Nicole Pajer, Billboard, "Winston House & 2332 Collective Make Sure West LA Music Scene Doesn't Fade Away," 2 July 2018 On the company's trading floor, men bantered about groping the Queen of England's genitals. — Anchorage Daily News, "Pregnancy discrimination is rampant inside America’s biggest companies," 16 June 2018 Each show begins with Pasi, Brenden and Coleman on stage bantering about their week, nobody missing an opportunity to take a co-host down a peg. — Mike Acker, OregonLive.com, "Portland comics revamp 'You're Welcome' show with music and more," 23 May 2018 Han and Lando play mind games with each other while bantering about their respective chips — Lando owns the Millennium Falcon, which Han wants. — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, "'Solo: A Star Wars Story': New footage reveals how it went down when Han met Lando," 24 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Some of these should make for some interesting locker room banter. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "'Madden NFL 19' player ratings: 9 head-turning observations include slight to Eli Manning," 12 July 2018 What sounds like romantic banter to an eavesdropper, could be a nightmare for one or both of the people involved. — Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic, "Stop Live-Tweeting Strangers Flirting," 9 July 2018 But live, Jukebox couldn’t match up the energy of the album live, and cutesy deadpan banter about getting a song placed on Rob Schneider’s Netflix show became less a distinguishing trait than the only reason worth sticking around. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 9: Janelle Monáe, Flaming Lips, BØRNS, Judah & the Lion and more," 7 July 2018 His love for 'banter' and joking around make him of the most likeable, but also childish, footballers around. — SI.com, "6 Players That Never Grew Up," 24 June 2018 McDonagh is often at his best with quickfire banter, screwball comedy with a screw loose, and in the hands and mouths of Conway and Walley the pair's dialogue exchanges really sing. — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Lieutenant of Inishmore': Theater Review," 5 July 2018 This kind of lively banter is often considered uniquely human, a trait that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. — Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian, "Some Animals Take Turns While Talking, Just Like Humans. Why?," 20 June 2018 Lots of banter that should give you a pretty good idea of what their show here will be like. — Théoden Janes, charlotteobserver, "Anderson Cooper abruptly ended this interview, but we (and Andy Cohen) understand why," 6 June 2018 During a moment of playful banter before the doors closed on the press, the dictator joked about the difficulty of bringing North Korean noodles with him for the evening banquet and complimented Mr Moon on the high quality of the South’s roads. — The Economist, "Can the euphoria of the Korean summit last?," 27 Apr. 2018

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