panting

present participle of pant
as in gasping
to breathe hard, quickly, or with difficulty the dog was panting heavily after his breakneck run across the field

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of panting Your dog starts panting and won’t settle down. Maria Williams, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025 Her husband was a bear — wild, panting, with sweat pasting his T-shirt to his chest. Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025 The dog was panting and shifting from one foot to the other. Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025 Howard’s best comedies have a light, almost effortless touch, but this one is panting and gasping essentially from the opening frames. Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025 Officers responding to the scene found the dog panting heavily, with excessive drool coating the back seat. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025 Kim Doggett walked outside last Sunday to find her chocolate cake on the floor of her back porch, brown paw prints on her new beige couch and a panting opossum lying on top of it. Dawn Sawyer, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025 Indeed, by the time the procedure was finished, the rabbit was sitting up in its cage, looking around, and panting considerably less. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 Phoebe, our dog, was panting, nervous, and running in circles around Dave. Claire Cameron, Outside Online, 3 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panting
gasping
Verb
  • When the audio came back on during the broadcast, the audience could be heard gasping — while cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin raised her hands to her face in shock, and Sunny Hostin pursed her lips.
    Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Ally repeatedly asked while gasping as about a dozen of her friends chuckled nearby.
    Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Panting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panting. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.

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