To rant means to speak or complain at length in an angry, passionate, or wild way. When someone rants, they go on and on about something that bothers them, often getting more worked up as they talk. A student might rant about an unfair rule, a coach might rant at the referee after a bad call, or your uncle might rant about traffic at the dinner table.

The word suggests losing a bit of control over your emotions while speaking. A rant usually involves strong feelings pouring out in a flood of words. Someone giving a calm, organized speech about a problem isn't ranting. But someone pacing around, voice rising, jumping from point to point about how terrible something is? That's a rant.

You'll often hear rant paired with “rave,” as in ranting and raving. This phrase describes someone who's really worked up, expressing anger or frustration loudly and dramatically. While it can feel good to vent frustrations sometimes, a rant rarely solves the problem: it mostly just releases built-up emotion. The word can be a noun too: “He went on a long rant about homework.”