Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

rant

verb, noun — 8 senses

rant

verb

UK, US /ɹænt/ · UK /ɹant/

Etymology From Dutch ranten, randen (“to talk nonsense, rave”), from Middle Dutch ranten (“to rant, babble, goof around”), of uncertain origin; but apparently related to Middle High German ranzen (“to dance, jump around, frolic”), German ranzen (“to be ardent, be in heat, copulate, mate, ramble, join up”).

1

To speak or shout at length in uncontrollable anger.

2

To disseminate one's own opinions in a—typically—one-sided, strong manner.

  • Harry was ranting about his boss again, but nobody paid any attention.
3

To criticize by ranting.

4

Dated To speak extravagantly, as in merriment.

5

To dance rant steps.

Derived terms
outrant, rant and rave, ranter

rant

noun

Etymology From Dutch ranten, randen (“to talk nonsense, rave”), from Middle Dutch ranten (“to rant, babble, goof around”), of uncertain origin; but apparently related to Middle High German ranzen (“to dance, jump around, frolic”), German ranzen (“to be ardent, be in heat, copulate, mate, ramble, join up”).

1

A criticism done by ranting.

2

A wild, emotional, and sometimes incoherent articulation.

3

A type of dance step usually performed in clogs, and particularly (but not exclusively) associated with the English North West Morris tradition. The rant step consists of alternately bringing one foot across and in front of the other and striking the ground, with the other foot making a little hop.

Derived terms
/end rant, rantful, rantsona, ranty, semirant
Related terms
screed, ramble, rave

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

Learn more