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Definition of pun - 3 dictionary results

pun

  [puhn] noun, verb, punned, pun⋅ning.
Use pun in a Sentence
–noun
1. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
2. the word or phrase used in this way.
–verb (used without object)
3. to make puns.
Origin:
1655–65; perh. special use of pun, var. (now dial.) of pound 1 , i.e., to mistreat (words)

Related forms:
punless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pun   (pŭn)   
n.  A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.
intr.v.   punned, pun·ning, puns
To make puns or a pun.

[Origin unknown.]
pun'ning·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

pun

a humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest different meanings or applications, or a play on words, as in the use of the word rings in the following nursery rhyme: Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,To see a fine lady upon a white horse; Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,She shall have music wherever she goes

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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