pantpant /pænt/ ●○○ verb 
He came in panting after running up the steps. He was panting for breath. The dog lay panting on the doorstep.► see thesaurus at breathe2[transitive] to say something while you are panting: ‘I can’t run any farther,’ she panted.—pant noun [countable]pant for something phrasal verb to want something very much: He came in panting for a cup of tea.
WORD ORIGINpant
Origin:
1400-1500 Old French pantaisier, from Vulgar Latin phantasiare ‘to see things which are not there’, from Latin phantasia; ➔ FANTASYVERB TABLE
pant
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | pant |
| he, she, it | pants | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | panted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have panted |
| he, she, it | has panted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had panted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will pant |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have panted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am panting |
| he, she, it | is panting | |
| you, we, they | are panting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was panting |
| you, we, they | were panting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been panting |
| he, she, it | has been panting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been panting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be panting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been panting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Go on without me," Mike panted.
- A strange brown dog suddenly jumped all over him, panting, its tongue out.
- Matt was still panting after his run.
- The athletes panted and puffed in the 90-degree heat.
- When I reached the top of the stairs I was puffing and panting like an old steam engine.
- He slammed the door shut behind him and leaned panting against the glass.
- I stood as straight as possible while their tossing velvety horns spun me about and their misty panting breath enveloped me.
- She was panting from running, dancing, chanting, crawling, beating the ground.
- Staggering up, I leaned against the wall, panting and gasping, wondering how severely I was hit.
- The infantry are also upon the run, sweating and panting in the hot sunshine.
- The mousy man sat on the suitcase panting dismally.
- The surface of the Melanisms heaved and panted, and Fenella felt the suction about her waist increase.
THESAURUS
[intransitive, transitive] to take air into your lungs and send it out again: · Mary knew he was asleep because he was breathing deeply.· He breathed the clear spring air.
to breathe out slowly and make a noise that shows you are disappointed, tired, relieved etc: · She just sighed and shook her head.· ‘Never mind,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities.’
to breathe quickly and noisily through your mouth, because you have been using a lot of effort: · They were panting by the time they got to the finish line.
to breathe very quickly and deeply and with difficulty: · Her eyes were wide, and she was gasping for breath.· ‘Do you think you can walk?’ ‘I’ll try to,’ he gasped.
to breathe noisily while you are sleeping: · I couldn’t sleep because my husband was snoring.
to breathe with difficulty, making a noise in your throat and chest, because you are ill: · His asthma was making him wheeze.
to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you have been running or doing other exercise: · I was out of breath by the time we reached the top of the hill.
to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy: · Because she was so overweight, she was often short of breath.
Longman Language Activatorto breathe with difficulty unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy: · When I wake up in the morning I'm often very short of breath.· She got short of breath very easily because she was so overweight.· The fog irritated his lungs and made him short of breath.
having difficulty breathing, especially because you have just been running, climbing stairs etc: · She sounded a little breathless, as if she had been running.· We were all a little out of breath when we got on the train.· Can we have a rest? -- I'm a bit out of breath.
to breathe very quickly and deeply because you are having difficulty breathing normally, for example after running fast or because you have been injured: · The hill was very steep and they were all gasping by the time they got to the top.· "Do you think you can walk?" I asked. "I'll try," he gasped.gasp for breath (=because you can hardly breathe): · His mother was coughing and gasping for breath.
to breathe loudly and with difficulty, because you are doing something which needs a lot of physical effort: · You could see her puffing as she carried the heavy washing basket.· "Sorry I'm so late Maxie,'' he said, puffing breathlessly.
to breathe quickly and noisily with your mouth open, for example, because you have just been running: · Matt was still panting after his run.· When I reached the top of the stairs I was puffing and panting like an old steam engine.· A strange brown dog suddenly jumped all over him, panting, its tongue out.
also be bunged up British spoken to have difficulty breathing through your nose because you have a cold : · She doesn't want to go to school. She says her throat is sore and she's stuffed up.be all bunged up: · I couldn't sleep last night because I was all bunged up.
to breathe with a whistling noise in your throat and chest because you are ill or unhealthy: · When she coughed she made a terrible wheezing sound.· His asthma was acting up and he wheezed throughout the show.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He was panting for breath.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES George puffed and panted as he tried to keep up.
He was panting for breath. (=breathes quickly usually with its tongue hanging out)· The dog was panting heavily beside her.
George puffed and panted as he tried to keep up. informal (=scare someone very much)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· He found a pretty girl with her pants down.
NOUN· He continues to pant for breath.· He arrived in my office in less than two minutes, panting and out of breath.· I stood as straight as possible while their tossing velvety horns spun me about and their misty panting breath enveloped me.
VERB· She came, panting, to a halt.
· She stood stock-still, panting, listening to the harsh rasp of her own breathing.· He stood there panting, eyes crazed.· They dragged the mattress through, and stood panting with exertion on either side of it.· Then he'd have rolled her aside and stood up, panting.· Mungo stood panting over the body, unable to comprehend.
· Marta passes the sign without a glance, wearing military-style camouflage pants she has owned 11 years.· Female employees also are restricted from wearing twill pants, casual shoes and shirts.· No one knew that Amelia wore pants to hide her thick ankles.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► have ants in your pants► catch somebody with their pants/trousers down► fly by the seat of your pants► do something by the seat of your pants
1[intransitive] to breathe quickly with short noisy breaths, for example because you have been running or because it is very hot: - He was gormless, spoke in a funny nasal accent and looked as if he could do with a kick up the backside.
- I think I just needed a kick up the backside.
- They like to see officialdom and the upper classes getting a kick up the backside.
- I was so scared, I could've shit my pants.
He came in panting after running up the steps. He was panting for breath. The dog lay panting on the doorstep.► see thesaurus at breathe2[transitive] to say something while you are panting: ‘I can’t run any farther,’ she panted.—pant noun [countable]pant for something phrasal verb to want something very much: He came in panting for a cup of tea.