canter

1 of 3

noun (1)

cant·​er ˈkan-tər 

: one who uses cant: such as

a

: beggar, vagabond

b

: a user of professional or religious cant

canter

2 of 3

verb

can·​ter ˈkan-tər 

cantered; cantering; canters

intransitive verb

1

: to move at or as if at a canter : lope

2

: to ride a horse at a canter

transitive verb

: to cause to go at a canter

canter

3 of 3

noun (2)

can·​ter ˈkan-tər 

1

: a 3-beat gait resembling but smoother and slower than the gallop

2

: a ride at a canter

Examples of canter in a Sentence

Verb

The horses cantered across the grass.

We cantered off toward the lake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At the Beavers Bend Depot & Trail Rides, kids and families can board a one-third-scale replica of an 1863 train or canter on horseback along paths. —Casey Barber, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2025

There’s also an outdoor polo arena, a canter track, a stick’n ball polo pitch and, for quick jaunts into London, a helipad. —Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2025

The deluge of headlines has also put pressure on the Hong Kong government to bring home a dozen city residents stranded in the scam canters. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025

Lautaro Martínez Inter Milan won the league at a canter in 2023/24 and their main man was captain fantastic Lautaro. —Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024

Bloom moves with the lithe, unsteady canter of a man who's punch drunk, while the trauma of his horrific childhood emanates from his haunted eyes. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2024

Yet, undeterred by the current pricing dynamic, major energy players appear to be building up their LNG capacities and businesses at a canter. —Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Seven red cards later the game finished in a royal rumble, but River Plate got the home victory and took the league title at a canter. —Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024

No matter his mounting legal headaches, former president Donald Trump appears poised to win the Republican presidential nomination at a canter. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024

Verb

The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2025

This is not the same City that cantered to the last four Premier League titles in a row, nor the one that won the treble and conquered Europe in 2022. —Oli Gamp, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025

Hobbyhorse competitions feature young enthusiasts trotting, galloping, and cantering on toy horses in various disciplines, such as jumping and dressage. —Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024

The technology involved in planar magnetic drivers is cantered around an ultra-thin diaphragm made of a polymer substrate that’s just 2µm thick. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024

As Sri Lanka cantered towards 219, powered by the brilliant Pathum Nissanka, Joe Root was reduced to trying Stuart Broad’s bail-switching wizardry. —Tim Ellis, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024

The horses were draped in colorful Hermès scarves and cantered around the plaza in front of the guests. —Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 24 June 2024

In March, Pieper was elated when Dax briefly cantered but then realized Dax was actually just playfully biting the butt of the horse in front of him. —Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 18 June 2024

In the week prior to the auction, the two-year-olds get under tack and a rider takes them on the track’s backstretch, first walking, then cantering, then galloping into the final turn, then picking up speed and sprinting flat out over the last eighth of a mile. —Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

short for obsolete canterbury, noun (canter), from Canterbury, England; from the supposed gait of pilgrims riding to Canterbury

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1609, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1706, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1755, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for canter

• banter
• cantor
• chanter
• granter
• grantor
• plantar
• planter
• tranter
• decanter
• enchanter
• trochanter

Kids Definition

canter

1 of 2 noun

can·​ter

ˈkant-ər

: a three-beat gait of a horse resembling but smoother and slower than the gallop

canter

2 of 2 verb

: to go or cause to go at a canter