How to Use banter in a Sentence

banter

1 of 2 verb
  • The pair then bantered about whether or not the song would chart.
    — Ilana Kaplan, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023
  • The two would often banter back and forth about the issues of the day.
    — Riley Murdock, azcentral, 5 June 2019
  • The pages are filled with sidebars in which the brothers banter back and forth.
    — Geek's Guide To The Galaxy, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2021
  • The two bantered before slapping hands on the way back to the line of scrimmage.
    — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 30 July 2019
  • On the train ride, fans sang and chanted and bantered with one another.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 20 June 2026
  • Let the coach make that decision, living with it, and don’t banter back.
    — Dallas News, 9 Dec. 2022
  • Still, the nurses keep the tone light, bantering with their patients.
    — Peter Rowe, sandiegouniontribune.com, 19 Sep. 2017
  • Our guys, despite what may be bantered about, understand that.
    — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Jean insisted on driving, and the other two bantered the whole way.
    — David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Instead, criticism comes to feel just like bantering at a bar.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Some streamers, for example, choose to just banter with their viewers.
    — Morgan Sung, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2022
  • Two affable hosts sit on a set and banter their way through news segments and interviews.
    — Heather Schwedel, Slate Magazine, 25 Sep. 2017
  • Both are constantly bouncing jokes off each other and bantering away the long hours.
    — Longreads, 13 July 2018
  • Farther down the mountain, two other friends the pair had spent the night bantering about were also dead.
    — Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2023
  • Or, in the case of Friday night, pulled off stage banter with hilarious hubris.
    — Eric Heisig, cleveland, 20 Aug. 2022
  • As the episode ends, Clint and Kate banter about Kate's codename.
    — Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2021
  • The formers bantered over coffee and cake and gathered for group selfies.
    — Carla Power, latimes.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • John banters with some reporters, but Carolyn is paralyzed by the flash.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The two bantered while whipping up eggs with salsa and avocado.
    — Makeda Easter, latimes.com, 4 Jan. 2017
  • At the same time, homeowners in a live meeting are not allowed to just banter back and forth — so why allow it in the chat box?
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Oct. 2023
  • Jade and Ellie bantered more about breath play and eventually made plans to meet up for dinner.
    — Sara Youngblood Gregory, refinery29.com, 22 Mar. 2023
  • From across the red police tape, the young patrol officer in the street bantered with a group of mostly teenage boys and two girls in the park.
    — Hannah Leone, chicagotribune.com, 24 June 2018
  • The idea sprung from friendly locker room banter among the Barons, who were in desperate need of a kicker.
    — David Hinojosa, ExpressNews.com, 5 Nov. 2020
  • Poundstone’s known for bantering freely with her audiences and never doing the same show twice.
    — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 25 June 2019
  • In this mode, Alexa acts like a speaking version of a chatbot, bantering back and forth about a wide range of topics.
    — Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023
  • And the pair only got funnier rattling off the nominees and bantering back forth about video game music.
    — Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2024
  • The two were bantering back and forth with smiles on their faces before continuing on their separate ways.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 14 June 2026
  • Daily bantering with his co-workers and service staff coming thru Gate 3 was his joy.
    — Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 Feb. 2018
  • Miles also enjoyed bantering with the crowd during the Virginia game.
    — Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • On most teams, the outfielders stroll in silence or bantering lightly off the field between innings.
    — Stephanie Apstein, SI.com, 15 Aug. 2019

banter

2 of 2 noun
  • I enjoyed hearing their good-natured banter.
  • Sparks fly and the two banter, dance and even kiss.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
  • The pride and joy showed in his smile and could be heard in his banter.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 15 Oct. 2017
  • Trying to have a bit of a laugh and banter with it.
    — Miami Herald, 1 June 2026
  • Not a lot of banter, mostly just rock.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
  • But there’s an arch distance from the banter.
    — Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Our banter was fun, constant and warm.
    — Dawn Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Stay cool out there (weather banter, as promised)!
    — Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
  • That was the birth of Ben and Cat’s banter.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 30 May 2026
  • There’s less pre-song banter, and the crowd noise becomes just more noise.
    — Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Thank you all those car fans (and non car fans) for the years of support and banter!
    — Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Lots of banter that should give you a pretty good idea of what their show here will be like.
    — Théoden Janes, charlotteobserver, 6 June 2018
  • On the day, there was good humor and good banter in between takes.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Just relax, have a good time, let the fun banter happen.
    — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
  • In the midst of our discussion, their banter yields an idea for the tour.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
  • In some cases, the script for his banter didn’t fully make sense.
    — Théoden Janes, charlotteobserver, 29 Apr. 2017
  • Luckily, the back-and-forth banter was all in fun and for a good cause.
    — Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 25 May 2023
  • The banter is top-notch, and watching Sam loosen up is a joy to read.
    — Washington Post, 10 June 2021
  • In the shelter, neighbors banter or trade dark punch lines.
    — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Good-natured banter links many of the world's best shot putters.
    — OregonLive.com, 14 Mar. 2018
  • The banter with the players, that’s for sure my favorite part.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The besties are a talk show host’s dream with their playful banter and prepared bits.
    — Emma Urdangen, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
  • The banter between the two hosts is lively.
    — Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026
  • Craving more screen time for latkes, earnest romance, and bubbe banter?
    — Dan Snierson, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2022
  • The mask smell, high in my nostrils, is washed away by the banter with these people.
    — Jay Baruch, STAT, 27 Mar. 2020
  • The book has the spritely pace and banter of the best rom-coms, as well as a killer concept.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Mar. 2021
  • It's used as light banter to make a person feel included in a joke.
    — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Too much of the banter is sloppy and too many of her mistakes are avoidable.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Feel free to follow along with the action or join in the banter with our readers.
    — Joey Yashinsky, Detroit Free Press, 26 Oct. 2019
  • There’s no horseplay, no banter, no jokes, As there was in the brighter part of the day.
    — Hartford Courant, courant.com, 11 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'banter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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