n.
Any of various social insects of the family Formicidae, characteristically having wings only in the males and fertile females and living in colonies that have a complex social organization.
idiom:
ants in (one's) pants Slang.
- A state of restless impatience: "She's got ants in her pants" (Bobbie Ann Mason).
[Middle English amte, from Old English ǣmete.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
