ant
Plural: ants
Noun
- A small insect typically living in a complex social colony.
- social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
- Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.
- A Web spider.
Verb
- To rub insects, especially ants, on one's body, perhaps to control parasites or clean feathers.
Examples
- The tiny word ANT can be the start of a giant score.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English ampte, amte, emete, amete, from Old English ǣmete (“ant”), from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā (literally “biting-thing, cutter”), from Proto-Germanic *ē- (“off, away”) + *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Cognate with Scots emmot (“ant”), dialectal Dutch emt, empt (“ant”), German Ameise and Emse (“ant”). See also emmet.
Scrabble Score: 3
ant: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordant: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ant: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 4
ant: valid Words With Friends Word