What does "tent" mean?

1. (portable shelter) a shelter made of cloth or canvas that you sleep in when you go camping. 2. (medical plug) a small piece of soft material used by doctors to keep a wound or opening open. 3. (to cover food) to cover food loosely with foil in a shape like a roof to keep it moist while cooking. 4. (to go camping) to live or sleep in a tent while on holiday.

tent — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01portable shelter

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. a shelter made of cloth or canvas that you sleep in when you go camping.

n. a portable shelter consisting of fabric stretched over a supporting frame of poles and ropes.

“We spent the afternoon putting up our tent before it started to rain.”

“The hikers struggled to secure their tent against the gale-force winds that swept across the ridge during the night.”

Synonyms

shelter pavilion

02medical plug

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Medicine Technical

n. a small piece of soft material used by doctors to keep a wound or opening open.

n. a cylindrical or conical plug of absorbent material used to dilate a canal or keep a wound open for drainage.

“The surgeon used a small tent to ensure the wound could drain properly.”

“A laminaria tent is frequently employed in obstetric procedures to achieve gradual cervical dilation over several hours.”

Synonyms

plugdilator

03to cover food

B2 · Upper Intermediate Cooking

v. to cover food loosely with foil in a shape like a roof to keep it moist while cooking.

v. to cover food loosely with aluminium foil, shaped into a peak, to retain heat or moisture without touching the surface.

“Tent the turkey with foil so the meat stays juicy while it roasts.”

“After removing the roast from the oven, tent it with foil and allow it to rest for twenty minutes to let the juices redistribute.”

Synonyms

cover shield

04to go camping

B1 · Intermediate

v. to live or sleep in a tent while on holiday.

v. to lodge in a tent or to go camping; often used as an intransitive verb.

“We decided to tent near the lake instead of staying in a hotel.”

“The expedition members were forced to tent on the glacier for three days while they waited for the visibility to improve.”

Synonyms

campbivouac

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “tent” in context.

Verb

01. pitch a tent

“We found a flat spot near the river to pitch our tent for the night.”

verb + noun

02. put up a tent

“It took us nearly an hour to put up the tent in the wind.”

verb + noun

03. share a tent

“I had to share a tent with three other people during the hiking trip.”

verb + noun

04. sleep in a tent

“The children were excited to sleep in a tent in the backyard.”

verb + prep + noun

Adjective

05. large tent

“They rented a large tent for the outdoor wedding reception.”

adj + noun

06. waterproof tent

“Make sure you buy a waterproof tent if you are going to the mountains.”

adj + noun

Noun

07. tent peg

“Don't forget to bring extra tent pegs in case the ground is hard.”

noun + noun

08. tent pole

“One of the tent poles snapped when the heavy snow fell on it.”

noun + noun

From Middle English tente, borrowed from Old French tente, from Vulgar Latin tenta (“tent”), from the feminine of Latin tentus, ptp. of tendere (“to stretch, extend”), or contracted from tendita as an alternate past participle. Displaced native Middle English tild, tilt (“tent, tilt”), from Old English teld (“tent”). Compare Spanish tienda (“store, shop; tent”).

From Middle English tent (“attention”), aphetic variation of attent (“attention”), from Old French atente (“attention, intention”), from Latin attenta, feminine of attentus, past participle of attendere (“to attend”). Compare tend, from an aphetic variation of attend

From Middle English tente (“a probe”), from Middle French tente, deverbal of tenter, from Latin tentāre (“to probe, test”), alteration of temptāre (“to test, probe, tempt”).

From Spanish tinto (“deep-colored”), from Latin tīnctus, past participle of tingo (“to dye”). More at tinge. Doublet of tint and tinto. Compare claret (“French red wine”), also from color.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

tense waterproofing