pendant

noun

pen·​dant ˈpen-dənt 

senses 3 & 4 are also

ˈpe-nənt 

sense 5 is also

päⁿ-ˈdäⁿ 

variants or less commonly pendent

1

: something suspended: such as

a

: an ornament (as on a necklace) allowed to hang free

A turquoise pendant hung on her necklace.

b

: an electrical fixture suspended from the ceiling

hung an incandescent light pendant from the ceiling over the reading area

2

: a hanging ornament of roofs or ceilings much used in the later styles of Gothic architecture

3

: a length of line usually used as a connector on a boat or ship

especially : a short rope hanging from a spar and having at its free end a block or spliced thimble (see thimble sense 2a)

4

chiefly British : pennant sense 1a

5

a

: companion piece

The portrait of his father is a pendant to the one of his mother.

b

: something secondary or supplementary

The illustration is an apt pendant to the poem.

Did you know?

Most pendants are purely decorative. But a pendant may also hold a picture or a lock of hair of a lover or a child. And, perhaps because they hang protectively in front of the body and near the heart, pendants have often had symbolic and magical purposes. Thus, a pendant may be a charm or amulet, or its gems or metals may be felt to have health-giving properties. In architecture, a pendant is an ornament that hangs down from a structure, but unlike a necklace pendant it's usually solid and inflexible.

Synonyms

• bangle
• charm
• lavaliere
• lavalliere

Examples of pendant in a Sentence

Navajo necklaces with pendants finely crafted in genuine sky-blue turquoise.

a pendant that once flew on Nelson's flagship

Recent Examples on the Web

The second drop will debut Tuesday with prices starting at $1,900 for 18-karat rose, white or yellow gold bracelets and capping off at $19,800 for an 18-karat rose, white or yellow gold pavé pendant necklace. —Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 16 June 2025

Under the flowing script, there hangs a dainty cubic zirconia pendant. —Izzy Baskette, People.com, 30 May 2025

Archaeologists identified the 12 coin pendants as a mixture of European and Islamic coins all dating between 904 and 997 A.D. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 30 May 2025

The little pendants around our necks will be a hundred million Trojan horses, smuggling A.I. into every aspect of our lives. —Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 28 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pendaunt, from Anglo-French pendant, from present participle of pendre to hang, from Vulgar Latin *pendere, from Latin pendēre; akin to Latin pendere to weigh, estimate, pay, pondus weight

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pendant

• pendent
• tendent
• appendant
• ascendant
• attendant
• defendant
• dependant
• dependent
• descendant
• descendent
• intendant
• resplendent

Kids Definition

pendant

noun

pen·​dant

variants also pendent

ˈpen-dənt 

: something that hangs down especially as an ornament