Meanings
- pluralplural onlycomputingAn animated dotted line indicating which portion of an image is currently selected.
Synonyms: marquee
- pluralplural onlyhobbiesAn animated map of the positions of racecars on a racetrack.
This is what they call a 'marching ants' display, where every vehicle displays on a Google Earth map.
2023 December 21, Eric Prill, quotee, “Super Tour and Runoffs to use Flagtronics in 2024”, in Sports Car Club of America, archived from the original on 18 Oct 2025, retrieved 19 Feb 20262 more examples
The leaderboard section displays live-time action with a “marching ants” graphic displaying car numbers and positions when cars are on track, along with a complete speed chart.
2017 May 19, Bruce Martin, “Verizon's INDYCAR Mobile app a handy tool for drivers, fans alike”, in IndyCar, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2017, retrieved 19 Feb 2026I'm mainly looking at timing and scoring. We call them the 'marching ants' as the cars go around the track.
2023 June 19, Alanis King, quoting Jordan Taylor, “A Look Inside Garage 56, NASCAR's Le Mans Revolution”, in Road & Track, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2026, retrieved 19 Feb 2026
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn animated dotted line indicating which portion of an image is currently selected.
Origin
From the ant-like appearance of the moving dots.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
marching ants. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marching%20ants
“marching ants.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marching%20ants. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marching ants,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marching%20ants.
Source: marching ants on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.