punt

1
[ puhnt ]
See synonyms for punt on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground.: Compare drop kick, place kick.

  2. a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.

  1. Glassmaking. kick (def. 23b).

verb (used with object)
  1. Football. to kick (a dropped ball) before it touches the ground.

  2. to propel (a small boat) by thrusting against the bottom of a lake or stream, especially with a pole.

  1. to convey in or as if in a punt.

verb (used without object)
  1. to punt a football.

  2. to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake.

  1. to travel or have an outing in a punt.

  2. Informal. to equivocate or delay: If they ask you for exact sales figures, you'll have to punt.

Origin of punt

1
First recorded before 1000; 1835–45 for def. 1; Old English: “flat-bottomed boat” (not attested in Middle English ), from Latin pontō “pontoon, punt” (see pontoon1); the sense “to kick a dropped ball” comes perhaps via the semse “to propel (a boat) by shoving”

Other words from punt

  • punter, noun

Other definitions for punt (2 of 5)

punt2
[ puhnt ]

verb (used without object)
  1. Cards. to lay a stake against the bank, as at faro.

  2. Slang. to gamble, especially to bet on horse races or other sporting events.

noun
  1. Cards. a person who lays a stake against the bank.

Origin of punt

2
First recorded in 1705–15; from French ponter, derivative of ponte “punter; point in faro,” from Spanish punto; see origin at point

Other words from punt

  • punter, noun

Other definitions for punt (3 of 5)

punt3
[ poont, puhnt ]

noun
  1. a monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 pence; Irish pound.

Origin of punt

3
First recorded in 1970–75; from Irish, from English pound2

Other definitions for punt (4 of 5)

punt4
[ puhnt ]

Origin of punt

4
First recorded in 1820–25; probably shortening of punty

Other definitions for Punt (5 of 5)

Punt
[ poont ]

noun
  1. an ancient Egyptian name of an area not absolutely identified but believed to be Somaliland.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use punt in a sentence

  • Then she went back to her husband, and Neale went back to his punting.

    Rough-Hewn | Dorothy Canfield
  • After that there was much punting on Cherry Valley's part, evidently in the hope that a Brimfield back would fumble.

    Left Tackle Thayer | Ralph Henry Barbour
  • Cherry Valley attempted to run the ends and succeeded now and then, punting only on fourth down when everything else had failed.

    Left Tackle Thayer | Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for punt (1 of 4)

punt1

/ (pʌnt) /


noun
  1. an open flat-bottomed boat with square ends, propelled by a pole: See quant 1

verb
  1. to propel (a boat, esp a punt) by pushing with a pole on the bottom of a river, etc

Origin of punt

1
Old English punt shallow boat, from Latin pontō punt, pontoon 1

British Dictionary definitions for punt (2 of 4)

punt2

/ (pʌnt) /


noun
  1. a kick in certain sports, such as rugby, in which the ball is released and kicked before it hits the ground

  2. any long high kick

verb
  1. to kick (a ball, etc) using a punt

Origin of punt

2
C19: perhaps a variant of English dialect bunt to push, perhaps a nasalized variant of butt ³

British Dictionary definitions for punt (3 of 4)

punt3

/ (pʌnt) mainly British /


verb
  1. (intr) to gamble; bet

noun
  1. a gamble or bet, esp against the bank, as in roulette, or on horses

  2. Also called: punter a person who bets

  1. take a punt at Australian and NZ informal to have an attempt or try at (something)

Origin of punt

3
C18: from French ponter to punt, from ponte bet laid against the banker, from Spanish punto point, from Latin punctum

British Dictionary definitions for punt (4 of 4)

punt4

/ (pʊnt) /


noun
  1. (formerly) the Irish pound

Origin of punt

4
Irish Gaelic: pound

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012