canter

1 of 3

noun (1)

cant·​er ˈkan-tər How to pronounce canter (audio)
: one who uses cant: such as
b
: a user of professional or religious cant

canter

2 of 3

verb

can·​ter ˈkan-tər How to pronounce canter (audio)
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 How to pronounce canter (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
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 That’s not quite as many as 2016, when seventeen candidates contested the primary that Trump eventually won in a canter. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 24 June 2023 Related In the end, Subtract won the chart race in a canter. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 15 May 2023 But the animals here, designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, with movement direction by Caldwell, prowl and canter and leap with astonishing character and style. Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023 The horse seemed to enjoy its 15 minutes of fame, trotting by with ease, snaking in and out of the 1920s and 30s constructivist installations and by sand and imitation grass, before breaking out into a canter around the set. Thomas Adamson, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2022
Verb
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 Prince Harry is cantering into the weekend with a charity polo match as Meghan Markle cheers him on in Florida. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024 Footage captured by bystanders shows a Harriot II employee jumping in the river and swimming to Pickett’s aid, a group of three men cantering up to join the fight, and even a pair of white Crocs being turned into anklets by the sheer force of body slams. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2023

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of canter was in 1609

Dictionary Entries Near canter

Cite this Entry

“Canter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canter. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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
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