pant /pænt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: pantaisier , from Vulgar Latin phantasiare 'to see things which are not there' , from Latin phantasia ; ⇨ ↑ fantasy ]
1 . [intransitive] to breathe quickly with short noisy breaths, for example because you have been running or because it is very hot:
He came in panting after running up the steps.
He was panting for breath.
The dog lay panting on the doorstep.
2 . [transitive] to say something while you are panting:
‘I can’t run any farther,’ she panted.
—pant noun [countable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ breathe [intransitive and transitive] to take air into your lungs and send it out again:
Mary knew he was asleep because he was breathing deeply.
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He breathed the clear spring air.
▪ sigh to breathe out slowly and make a noise that shows you are disappointed, tired, ↑ relieved etc:
She just sighed and shook her head.
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‘Never mind,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities.’
▪ pant 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.
▪ gasp to breathe very quickly and deeply and with difficulty:
Her eyes were wide, and she was gasping for breath.
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‘Do you think you can walk?’ ‘I’ll try to,’ he gasped.
▪ snore to breathe noisily while you are sleeping:
I couldn’t sleep because my husband was snoring.
▪ wheeze to breathe with difficulty, making a noise in your throat and chest, because you are ill:
His asthma was making him wheeze.
▪ be out of breath 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.
▪ be short of breath to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy:
Because she was so overweight, she was often short of breath.
pant for something phrasal verb
to want something very much:
He came in panting for a cup of tea.