bent
1
[ bent ]
/ bɛnt /
adjective
curved; crooked: a bent bow; a bent stick.
determined; set; resolved (usually followed by on): to be bent on buying a new car.
Chiefly British Slang.
- morally crooked; corrupt.
- stolen: bent merchandise.
- homosexual.
noun
Origin of bent
1
First recorded in 1525–35; orig. past participle of
bend1
Words nearby bent
British Dictionary definitions for bent on (1 of 2)
bent
1
/ (bɛnt) /
adjective
not straight; curved
(foll by on)
fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)
slang
- dishonest; corrupt
- (of goods) stolen
- crazy; mad
- British offensive homosexual
noun
personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude
capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent)
civil engineering
a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it
British Dictionary definitions for bent on (2 of 2)
bent
2
/ (bɛnt) /
noun
short for bent grass
a stalk of bent grass
archaic
any stiff grass or sedge
Scot and Northern English dialect
heath or moorland
Word Origin for bent
Old English
bionot; related to Old Saxon
binet, Old High German
binuz rush
Idioms and Phrases with bent on
bent on
Also, bent upon. Determined, resolved, as in Jamie is bent on winning the math prize. This phrase, first recorded in 1762, always uses the past participle of the verb bend in the sense of “tend toward.”