ante
/ˈænti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.33 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep
Synonym of before, earlier in time, particularly used in historical dating.
noun
A price or cost, as in up the ante.
noun
In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot, often before dealing all the cards.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "The wall was built at some time a. 1400."
- "“… There was a man who always painted marble seats and another who did nothing but sheep. So a fellow I knew determined only to paint backs. Men's backs, women's backs, girls' backs and boys backs. … his best known bacchante was described by a critic as all back and no ante, but his backs became famous. …”"
- "When it came to the more successful contestants, meanwhile, edits of the shows also began to fall heavily on sad backstories – the "sob story", if you will – instilling the idea that singers had to mine trauma from their lives to up the emotional ante, making them seem to be more "worthy" winners."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin ante (“before”). Doublet of and.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈænti/
- British English: /ˈænti/