banter

1 of 2

verb

ban·​ter ˈban-tər How to pronounce banter (audio)
bantered; bantering; banters

transitive verb

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.
banterer noun
banteringly adverb

banter

2 of 2

noun

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

Did you know?

Can banter be vicious?

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
When a public figure sits across from a podcast host to embark on a purportedly shapeless, stream-of-consciousness chat suffused with crude jokes and senseless tangents, an odd alchemy occurs: the speakers begin to sound like pals bantering at a pre-game, with the listener as a silent confidant. Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024 My only hope is that Yancy wakes up for long enough to banter with him, because Vaughn and Delaney are certainly among the great banterers of our time. Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024
Noun
Her unconventional guesses, along with her banter with host Ryan Seacrest, got viewers talking. Emily Trainham, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2024 For one, most of the banter just isn’t really hitting. Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for banter 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

of obscure origin

Noun

noun derivative of banter entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1653, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of banter was in 1653

Dictionary Entries Near banter

Cite this Entry

“Banter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banter. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

banter

1 of 2 verb
ban·​ter ˈbant-ər How to pronounce banter (audio)
: to speak in a friendly but teasing or witty way
banterer noun
banteringly adverb

banter

2 of 2 noun
: good-natured teasing or joking

More from Merriam-Webster on banter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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