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tent

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A portable shelter.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tehnt
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɛnt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)

    “He pitched his tent near the creek.”

  2. A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.

  3. A trouser tent; a piece of fabric, etc. protruding outward like a tent.

  4. A web that resembles a tent or carpet

verb

  1. cooking

    To prop up aluminum foil in an inverted "V" (reminiscent of a pop-up tent) over food to reduce splatter, before putting it in the oven.

  2. intransitive

    To go camping.

  3. intransitive

    To form into a tent-like shape.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
General and technical use

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)

Used this way, tent is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He pitched his tent near the creek.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use tent

  • “He pitched his tent near the creek.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

tent cityoxygen tentcircus tenttent flaplarge tentsmall tenttent door

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tent-caterpillar mothnounCompound term

    Moth whose gregarious larvae spin webs resembling carpets.

  • tent caterpillarnounCompound term

    The larvae of moths that build and live in communal silken webs in orchard and shade trees.

  • tent flapnounCompound term

    Flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent.

  • tent-flynounCompound term

    Flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent.

  • tent pegnounCompound term

    A peg driven into the ground to hold a rope supporting a tent.

  • tent stitchnounCompound term

    A small diagonal needlepoint stitch.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.