bent meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

bent

adj

UK, US /bɛnt/

Etymology From Middle English bent-, preterite stem (as in bente, benten, etc.), and Middle English bent, ibent, ybent, past participle forms of Middle English benden (“to bend”). Equivalent to bend + -t.

9 senses

1Folded or dented out of its usual shape.
2Corrupt, dishonest.
3Homosexual.
4Determined or insistent; inclined, set.
5Annoyed; out of sorts; having a bee in one's bonnet.
6leading a life of crime.
7Inaccurately aimed.
8Suffering from the bends.
9High from both marijuana and alcohol.

Folded or dented out of its usual shape.

UK, Colloquial Corrupt, dishonest.

UK, Colloquial, Derogatory Homosexual.

Asked bluntly by Julie Webb of the NME whether he was “bent” in December 1974, Freddie answered evasively: “You're a crafty cow. […]”2019 January 22, Joe Sommerlad, “The reasons why Bohemian Rhapsody faced such a massive backlash”, in The Independent:

With on Determined or insistent; inclined, set.

He was bent on going to Texas, but not even he could say why.
They were bent on mischief.

1 more example

[…]in the ape posse, bent on vengeance, traversing landscapes clothed in snow and bristling with California red fir and silver pine, spooking human stragglers, and running across fresh graves as they search for the nameless colonel and try to piece together why the humans are killing each other.2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes ends up surrendering to formula”, in The Onion AV Club:

With about Annoyed; out of sorts; having a bee in one's bonnet.

Near-synonym: butthurt
She was bent about "certain kinds of people" having civil rights; she wanted to roll those back.

leading a life of crime.

Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports Slang Inaccurately aimed.

That shot was so bent it left the pitch.

US, Colloquial Suffering from the bends.

Slang High from both marijuana and alcohol.

Man, I am so bent right now!

Derived terms: 28 terms
bent as a butcher's hook, bent as a nine-bob note, bent as a two bob, bentbill, bent car, bent copper, bent edge, bent fork, bent function, bent grass, Bentley, bentness, bent on, bent on a splice, bent-side, Bent Spear, bentwood, bowbent, downbent, get bent, get bent out of shape, hellbent, hyperbent, inbent, nick-bent, prebent, semibent, time-bent
Related terms: hell-bent

bent

noun

8 senses

1An inclination or talent.
2A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.
3The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a…
4A declivity or slope, as of a hill.
5Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
6Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing…
7Such a subunit as a reinforcement to, or integral part…
8Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.

An inclination or talent.

He had a natural bent for painting.
the top of one's bent

2 more examples

They fool me to the top of my bent.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 384:
“The Kingdom of the Wicked” is not Mr. Burgess at the top of his bent. It is not schlock.1985 September 22, John Crowley, “St. Paul Meets Nero”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.

His mind was of a technical bent.

The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.

the bent of a bow
the force they have in the discharge , according to several bents1648, John Wilkins, Mathematicall Magick. Or, The Wonders that may be Performed by Mechanicall Geometry. […], London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Sa[muel] Gellibrand […], →OCLC:

A declivity or slope, as of a hill.

Beneath the lowering brow, and on a bent, / The temple stood of Mars armipotent1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.

bents and turns of the mattera. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:

› A transverse frame of a framed structure; a…

Business, Carpentry, Construction, Manufacturing Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing, joined to other bents by girts and summer beams.

Business, Carpentry, Construction, Manufacturing Such a subunit as a reinforcement to, or integral part of, a bridge's framing.

Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.

the full bent and stress of the soul1707, John Norris, Practical Discourses Upon the Beatitudes of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.:

Synonyms: disposition, predilection, proclivity, propensity
Derived terms: at the top of one's bent, to the top of one's bent

bent

noun

Etymology From Middle English bent, benet, from Old English *beonot (attested only in place-names and personal names), from Proto-West Germanic *binut (“reed, rush”), of uncertain origin.

Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.

His spear a bent, both stiff and strong.1627, Michael Drayton, Nymphidia, published 1810, page 124:
Gunga Dass gave me a double handful of dried bents which I thrust down the mouth of the lair to the right of his, and followed myself, feet foremost [...].1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes”, in The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales, Folio Society, published 2005, page 121:

1 more example

Clusters of strong flowers rose everywhere above the coarse tussocks of bent.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 9”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:

Bentgrass (Agrostis spp.).

A grassy area, grassland.

c. 1500, The Ballad of Chevy Chase Bowmen bickered upon the bent.

Old dried stalks of grasses.

Derived terms: brown bent, colonial bent, common bent, creeping bent, rough bent

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.