lent

1 of 2

past tense and past participle of lend

Lent

2 of 2

noun

: the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic, Eastern, and some Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting

Examples of lent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
The Catholic Church in Venezuela bent the rules for the semiaquatic animal, allowing it to be eaten during Lent. Gary Shteyngart, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025 Patricia Lent, co-director of the Merce Cunningham Trust and a company member from 1984 to 1993, could recall only one Cunningham-Brown duet originally danced by Ms. Brown and Mr. Cunningham that Mr. Cunningham revisited with a new partner. Claudia La Rocco, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025 To his credit, Lent never explicitly announces the character’s sexuality nor makes the film a coming-out story. Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 23 Dec. 2024 During Carnival Season leading up to Lent, the eye-popping and palate-pleasing Elvis King Cake makes its appearance at La Boulangerie, part of the Link Restaurant group. Leslie Kelly, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for lent 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English lente springtime, Lent, from Old English lencten; akin to Old High German lenzin spring

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lent was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near lent

Cite this Entry

“Lent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lent. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

Lent

noun
: a period of fasting and regret for one's sins that is observed on the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter by many churches
Lenten
ˈlent-ᵊn
adjective

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