Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

canter

Syllabification: (can·ter)
Pronunciation: /ˈkantər/
Translate canter | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of canter

noun

[in singular]
  • a three-beat gait of a horse or other quadruped between a trot and a gallop:he kicked his horse into a canter I rode away at a canter
  • a ride on a horse at the gait of a canter:we came back from one of our canters

verb

[no object]
  • (of a horse) move at a canter in a particular direction:they cantered down into the village
  • [with object] make (a horse) move at a canter:Katharine cantered Benji in a smaller and smaller circle

Origin:

early 18th century (as a verb): short for Canterbury pace or Canterbury gallop, from the supposed easy pace of medieval pilgrims to Canterbury

canter in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of canter in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

offing

/ ˈôfiNG /
noun
the more distant part of the sea in view …