Meaning & use
frequenting
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“frequenting” is a form of “frequent”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Present participle of frequent: visiting a particular place often or regularly.
Grammar: Takes an object with no preposition: frequenting a cafe.
Patterns
- frequenting a place
- frequenting somewhere
He was frequenting the same bar every Friday night.
Students have been frequenting the new library more often.
She was seen frequenting expensive restaurants in the city.
verbtransitivedisapproving
Describing someone who regularly goes to a place that has a bad or doubtful reputation.
Grammar: Takes a place as object; often used critically.
Patterns
- frequenting a place
Police warned about people frequenting the abandoned warehouse.
He was suspected of frequenting gambling dens.
They accused her of frequenting dubious clubs.
Word forms
| base form | frequent |
|---|---|
| third person singular | frequents |
| past tense | frequented |
Common combinations
- frequenting bars
- He was fined for frequenting bars after hours.
- frequenting a cafe
- She started frequenting a small cafe near work.
- frequenting the same places
- Detectives noted him frequenting the same places daily.
- frequenting websites
- Teenagers were frequenting chat sites at night.
- frequenting the beach
- We spent summer frequenting the beach.
Synonyms and how they differ
- visiting
- Visiting is neutral and does not imply a habit the way frequenting does.
- haunting
- Haunting is more informal or literary and suggests staying around a place a lot.
- patronizing
- Patronizing a business means regularly buying from it, while frequenting just means going there.
- hanging around
- Hanging around is informal and suggests idle time.
Opposites
Word family
- frequent verb
- to visit regularly
- frequent adjective
- happening often
- frequency noun
- how often something happens
- frequently adverb
- often
Commonly confused: frequenting or infrequent?
frequenting vs infrequent
Infrequent is an adjective meaning rare, and is not the opposite of the verb frequent.
Practice
The pub's owner said he knew everyone ___ his place and their usual orders.
Choose one answer.
The participle frequenting works as a verb taking an object. Frequent is the base form, frequency is a noun, and frequently is an adverb, so only frequenting fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frequenting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.