BENT | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of bent in English bentverb uk /bent/ us /bent/ Add to word list Add to word list past simple and past participle of bend Linguistics: verb forms, tenses & types of verbs

• accusative
• active voice
• aorist
• art
• auxiliary
• conditional
• continuous
• ditransitive
• imperative
• imperfect
• modality
• non-finite
• non-progressive
• passivization
• passivize
• past continuous
• perfect participle
• tense
• wast
• wilt

See more results » bentadjective uk /bent/ us /bent/

bent adjective (NOT STRAIGHT)

curved and not straight or flat: The metal bars were bent and twisted. Bending, twisting and curving

• arch your back
• ball up phrasal verb
• bendy
• bowed
• buckle
• entwine
• flex
• flexion
• flexural
• flexure
• rewind
• swirling
• swirlingly
• swoopy
• tangle
• tangled
• wriggle
• wristy
• writhe
• zigzag

See more results »

bent adjective (DISHONEST)

mainly UK slang (especially of a person in a position of authority) dishonest: a bent copper deceiving others and not telling the truth

• dishonestThe press called out the campaign's dishonest tactics.
• untrustworthyHe made the mistake of basing his news story on an untrustworthy source.
• deviousIt was a devious plan - but would it work?
• deceitfulShe's deeply deceitful and not to be trusted.

See more results » Dishonest

• artificiality
• bad faith
• be rotten to the core idiom
• cowboy
• crooked
• finagle
• fishy
• fly-by-night
• fraudulence
• fraudulent
• mendacious
• mendaciously
• misleading
• misleadingly
• on the fiddle
• uncandid
• under false pretences phrase
• underhand
• unreliability
• unreliable

See more results »

bent adjective (GAY)

UK old-fashioned offensive an extremely offensive word to describe a gay person, especially a gay man

Idioms

be bent on something/doing something get bent out of shape bentnoun [ S ] uk /bent/ us /bent/ a natural skill: She has a scientific bent/a bent for science. Synonym knack Skill, talent and ability

• ability
• accomplishment
• accuracy
• acumen
• adroitness
• endowment
• forte
• functional literacy
• functional skills
• functioning
• genius
• muscle memory
• non-technical
• polish
• prestidigitation
• proficiency
• repertory
• wheelhouse
• wizardry
• workmanship

See more results » (Definition of bent from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

bent | American Dictionary

bentus /bent/

bent (BEND)

Add to word list Add to word list past simple and past participle of bend

Idiom

bent on bentnoun [ U ]   fml us /bent/

bent noun [U] (TENDENCY)

a natural tendency: the philosophical bent of his mind (Definition of bent from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

bent | Business English

bentadjective UK informal uk /bent/ us Add to word list Add to word list dishonest: a bent lawyer/accountant/policeman (Definition of bent from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of bent?

Translations of bent

in Chinese (Traditional) （bent 的過去式及過去分詞）, 彎曲的, 不直的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) （bent 的过去式及过去分词）, 弯曲的, 不直的… See more in Spanish pasado simple y participio pasado de "bend", doblado, doblado/da [masculine-feminine]… See more in Portuguese passado e particípio passado de "bend", curvado, dobrado… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian “bend” の過去形、過去分詞形, 曲がった, 曲（ま）がった… See more eğilmiş, bükülmüş, eğik… See more tordu/-ue, aptitude… See more passat i participi passat de “bend”, doblegat, torçat… See more aanleg… See more sklon, dispozice, nadání… See more anlæg, flair, talent… See more bakat… See more ความโน้มเอียง… See more năng khiếu… See more wygięty, zakrzywiony, nieuczciwy… See more anlag, håg, lust… See more lengkung… See more die Neigung… See more bøyd, hang, tilbøyelighet… See more “bend”의 과거, 과거 분사형, 구부러진… See more схильність, нахил… See more passato semplice e participio passato di “bend”, curvo, storto… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

Benin Beninese benne benny bent bent double bent grass bent on idiom bent-over row {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of bent

• bend
• bent double
• bent grass
• bent-over row
• bent on idiom
• bend to something phrasal verb
• be hell-bent on something idiom

See all meanings

• bend to something phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

• bent on idiom
• be hell-bent on something idiom
• get bent out of shape idiom
• be bent on something/doing something idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

papers

official documents, especially ones that show who you are

About this

Blog

Poker faced or heart on your sleeve? Showing or hiding emotions.

February 04, 2026 Read More

New Words

clip farming February 02, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanBusinessTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   Verb
  • Adjective 
    • bent (NOT STRAIGHT)
    • bent (DISHONEST)
    • bent (GAY)
  Noun
• American   
  • Noun 
    • bent (TENDENCY)
• Business   Adjective

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add bent to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add bent to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}