- (n.) A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.
- (n.) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask.
- (n.) The use of religious phraseology without understanding or sincerity; empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt; hypocrisy.
- (n.) An outer or external angle.
- (v.i.) To speak in a whining voice or an affected, singsong tone.
- (v.t.) To cut off an angle from, as from a square piece of timber or from the head of a bolt.
- (n.) A segment of he rim of a wooden cogwheel.
- (v.t.) To give a sudden turn or new direction to; as, to cant round a stick of timber; to cant a football.
- (n.) A call for bidders at a public sale; an auction.
- (n.) A sudden thrust, push, kick or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so give; as, to give a ball a cant.
- (v.t.) To incline; to set at an angle; to tilt over; to tip upon the edge; as, to cant a cask; to cant a ship.
- (n.) The idioms and peculiarities of speech in any sect, class or occupation.
- (n.) A corner; angle; niche.
- (a.) Of the nature of cant; affected; vulgar.
- (v.t.) to sell by auction or bid a price at a sale by auction.
- (n.) An affected, singsong mode of speaking.
- (n.) An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a titl.
- (v.i.) To use pretentious language, barbarous jargon or technical terms; to talk with an affectation of learning.
- (v.i.) To make whining pretensions to goodness; to talk with an affectation of religion, philanthropy, etc.; to practice hypocrisy; as, a canting fanatic.
- (n.) Vulgar jargon; slang; the secret language spoker by gipsies, thieves, tramps or beggars.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). cant. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/cant/definitions/1984358 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "cant" http://smartdefine.org/cant/definitions/1984358 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, cant, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/cant/definitions/1984358>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "cant" 27 May 2011. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/cant/definitions/1984358> |