Word.ws English Dictionary

anting

Syllables: ant·ingUK/ˈæntɪŋ/

anting noun: the practice of some birds of rubbing live ants or occasionally other items into the feathers, possibly as a means of controlling parasites.

Noun

anting (uncountable)

  1. The practice of some birds of rubbing live ants or occasionally other items into the feathers, possibly as a means of controlling parasites.
    • When we say a bird is anting, we mean that it is on the ground or on a twig with one or both wings half-spread and with its tail drawn under the body. In this unusual attitude it can be seen picking up ants with its bill and rubbing its head among the undersides of the wings and – or – into the...1955, Holger Poulsen, “Experiments on Anting by Birds”, in Adolf Portmann, Ernst Sutter, editors, Acta Congressus internationalis ornithologici [Experientia: Supplementum; 3], Basel: Birkhäuser...
    • When anting the Jay does not pick up ants in the bill although it makes the same movements of the head as species which do. The wings are (at high intensity) spread quite widely and thrust forward like a canopy in front of the anting bird. Usually both wings are thrust forward together. I have seen...1986, Derek Goodwin, Crows of the World, 2nd edition, London: British Museum (Natural History), →ISBN, page 199

anting meaning in Tamil

anting in Tamil

எறும்பேற்றுதல்

Examples of anting in a sentence

  • When we say a bird is anting, we mean that it is on the ground or on a twig with one or both wings half-spread and with its tail drawn under the body.1955, Holger Poulsen, “Experiments on Anting by Birds”, in Adolf Portmann, Ernst Sutter, editors, Acta Congressus internationalis...
  • When anting the Jay does not pick up ants in the bill although it makes the same movements of the head as species which do.1986, Derek Goodwin, Crows of the World, 2nd edition, London: British Museum (Natural History), →ISBN, page 199:
  • They are frequently given as exemplars of a bird behavior known as "anting," in which the bird lies down on an anthill with wings and tail spread and entices ants to swarm over it.2011, Julie Feinstein, Field Guide to Urban Wildlife, Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 199:
  • What causes anting and what purpose or purposes it serves, if any, need investigation.2013, Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., Ornithology in Laboratory and Field, 4th edition, Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, →ISBN, page 251:

Origin of anting

From ant + -ing.

Words that rhyme with anting

Questions about anting

What does anting mean?
Anting means the practice of some birds of rubbing live ants or occasionally other items into the feathers, possibly as a means of controlling parasites.
What is anting in Tamil?
Anting in Tamil is எறும்பேற்றுதல். See Anting meaning in Tamil.
How do you use anting in a sentence?
When we say a bird is anting, we mean that it is on the ground or on a twig with one or both wings half-spread and with its tail drawn under the body.
What part of speech is anting?
Anting is a noun.
How do you pronounce anting?
Anting is pronounced /ˈæntɪŋ/ (UK).

Words near anting in the dictionary

  1. antineutron
  2. antineutrons
  3. antineutrophil
  4. antineutrophilic
  5. antinflammatory
  6. anting
  7. anting-anting
  8. anting-antings
  9. antinicotine
  10. antinicotinic
  11. antinicotinics

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: anting (page history and authors); anting (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-anting.ogg.

Cite this entry: “anting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/anting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.