ant : Idioms & Phrases

-ant

Etymology

F. -ant, fr. L. -antem or -entem, the pr. p. ending; also sometimes directly from L. -antem.

Definitions

1. A suffix sometimes marking the agent for action; as, merchant, covenant, servant, pleasant, etc. Cf. -ent.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a species of ant which gathers and stores seeds of grasses, for food. The remarkable species (Myrmica barbata) found in Texas clears circular areas and carefully cultivates its favorite grain, known as ant rice.

Webster 1913

• noun small reddish slave-making ant species
  Polyergus rufescens.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a species of ant (Polyergus rufescens), of Europe and America. They seize by conquest the larvæ and nymphs other species and make slaves of them in their own nests.

Webster 1913

• noun large shaggy-haired toothless anteater with long tongue and powerful claws; of South America
  tamanoir; Myrmecophaga jubata; great anteater; giant anteater.
  
• noun nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata
  aardvark; Orycteropus afer; anteater.
  

WordNet

• noun any of various dull-colored South American birds that feeding on ants some following army ant swarms
  antbird.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), one of a very extensive group of South American birds (Formicariidæ), which live on ants. The family includes many species, some of which are called ant shrikes, ant thrushes, and ant wrens.

Webster 1913

• noun excretes a honeylike substance eaten by ants
  

WordNet

Ant" egg`

Definitions

1. One of the small white egg-shaped pupæ or cocoons of the ant, often seen in or about ant-hills, and popularly supposed to be eggs.

Webster 1913

• noun the larva of any of several insects
  antlion; doodlebug.
  
• noun winged insect resembling a dragonfly; the larvae (doodlebugs) dig conical pits where they wait to catch e.g. ants
  antlion fly; antlion.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a species of grass (Aristida oligantha) cultivated by the agricultural ants of Texas for the sake of its seed.

Webster 1913

• noun antbirds superficially resembling shrikes
  

WordNet

• noun a kind of antbird
  

WordNet

Ant" thrush`

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) (a) One of several species of tropical birds, of the Old World, of the genus Pitta, somewhat resembling the thrushes, and feeding chiefly on ants. (b) See Ant bird, under Ant.

Webster 1913

Ant-

Definitions

1. See Anti-, prefix.

Webster 1913

Ant"-bear` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) An edentate animal of tropical America (the Tamanoir), living on ants. It belongs to the genus Myrmecophaga.

Webster 1913

Ant"-cat`tle noun

Wordforms

plural

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Various kinds of plant lice or aphids tended by ants for the sake of the honeydew which they secrete. See Aphips.

Webster 1913

Ant"-eat`er noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) One of several species of edentates and monotremes that feed upon ants. See Ant-bear, Pangolin, Aard-vark, and Echidna.

Webster 1913

Ant"-hill noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A mound thrown up by ants or by termites in forming their nests.

Webster 1913

Ant"-li`on noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A neuropterous insect, the larva of which makes in the sand a pitfall to capture ants, etc. The common American species is Myrmeleon obsoletus, the European is M. formicarius.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical nomadic ant that preys mainly on other insects
  army ant; driver ant.
  

WordNet

• noun any of the large fierce Australian ants of the genus Myrmecia
  

WordNet

• noun ant that nests in decaying wood in which it bores tunnels for depositing eggs
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any species of ant which gnaws galleries in the wood of trees and constructs its nests therein. They usually select dead or somewhat decayed wood. The common large American species is Formica Pennsylvanica.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical nomadic ant that preys mainly on other insects
  army ant; driver ant.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a species of African stinging ant; one of the visiting ants (Anomma arcens); so called because they move about in vast armies, and drive away or devour all insects and other small animals.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a species of white ant in Jamaica which builds large nests in trees.

Webster 1913

• noun omnivorous ant of tropical and subtropical America that can inflict a painful sting
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), one of several species of ants of the genus Eciton, very abundant in tropical America, remarkable for marching in vast armies in search of food.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any species of ant which gathers and stores up seeds for food. Many species are known.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a common ant (Formica rufa), of Europe and America, which makes mounds or ant-hills over its nests.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a small ant (Myrmecocystus melliger), found in the Southwestern United States, and in Mexico, living in subterranean formicares. There are larger and smaller ordinary workers, and others, which serve as receptacles or cells for the storage of honey, their abdomens becoming distended to the size of a currant. These, in times of scarcity, regurgitate the honey and feed the rest.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a large ant (Formica rufa); called also horse emmet.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a very small, yellowish brown ant (Myrmica molesta), which often infests houses, and sometimes becomes a great pest.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a blackish European ant (Formica fuliginosa), which builds its nest of a paperlike material in the trunks of trees.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical nomadic ant that preys mainly on other insects
  army ant; driver ant.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the ant-lion.

Webster 1913

• noun tiny glossy black ant; nests outdoors but invades houses for food
  Monomorium minimum.
  

WordNet

• noun small red ant of warm regions; a common household pest
  pharaoh ant; Monomorium pharaonis.
  

WordNet

• noun small red ant of warm regions; a common household pest
  pharaoh ant; Monomorium pharaonis.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), the echidna.

Webster 1913

• . (Zoöl.) (a) A very small ant (Myrmica molesta) which often infests houses . (b) A larger reddish ant (Formica sanquinea), native of Europe and America. It is one of the slave-making species.

Webster 1913

• noun slave-making ant widely distributed over the northern hemisphere
  Formica sanguinea.
  

WordNet

Sau"ba ant`

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A South American ant (Ecodoma cephalotes) remarkable for having two large kinds of workers besides the ordinary ones, and for the immense size of its formicaries. The sauba ant cuts off leaves of plants and carries them into its subterranean nests, and thus often does great damage by defoliating trees and cultivated plants. a leaf-cutting ant

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the pangolin.

Webster 1913

• noun any of various ants captured as larvae and enslaved by another species
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any species of ants which is captured and enslaved by another species, especially Formica fusca of Europe and America, which is commonly enslaved by Formica sanguinea.

Webster 1913

• noun an ant that attacks colonies of other ant species and carries off the young to be reared as slave ants
  slave-maker.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any solitary hymenopterous insect of the family Mutillidæ. The female of these insects is destitute of wings and has a powerful sting. The male is winged and resembles a wasp. Called also spider ant.

Webster 1913

• . (Zoöl.) Same as Solitary ant, under Solitary.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a small European ant (Formica flava) which makes small ant-hills on heaths and commons.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), the sauba ant; so called because it carries bits of leaves over its back when foraging. Called also parasol ant.

Webster 1913

• noun a solitary wasp of the family Mutillidae; the body has a coat of brightly colored velvety hair and the females are wingless
  

WordNet

• . (Zoöl.) See Driver ant, under Driver.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a reddish ant (Formica sanguinea) native of Europe and America. It is one of the species which move in armies to capture and enslave other ants.

Webster 1913

• noun whitish soft-bodied ant-like social insect that feeds on wood
  termite.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of social pseudoneuropterous insects of the genus Termes. These insects are very abundant in tropical countries, and form large and complex communities consisting of numerous asexual workers of one or more kinds, of large-headed asexual individuals called soldiers, of one or more queens (or fertile females) often having the body enormously distended by the eggs, and, at certain seasons of numerous winged males, together with the larvæ and pupæ of each kind in various stages of development. Many of the species construct large and complicated nests, sometimes in the form of domelike structures rising several feet above the ground and connected with extensive subterranean galleries and chambers. In their social habits they closely resemble the true ants. They feed upon animal and vegetable substances of various kinds, including timber, and are often very destructive to buildings and furniture.

Webster 1913

• noun reddish-brown European ant typically living in anthills in woodlands
  Formica rufa.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), a large ant (Formica rufa) which lives in woods and forests, and constructs large nests.

Webster 1913