bunt

1
[ buhnt ]
See synonyms for: buntbunting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. Baseball. to bat (a pitched ball) very gently so that it rolls into the infield close to home plate, usually by holding the bat loosely in hands spread apart and allowing the ball to bounce off it.

  2. (of a goat or calf) to push with the horns or head; butt.

verb (used without object)
  1. Baseball. to bunt a ball.

  2. to push (something) with the horns or head.

noun
  1. Baseball.

    • the act of bunting.

    • a bunted ball.

  2. a push with the head or horns; butt.

Origin of bunt

1
First recorded in 1760–70; originally British dialect (central and south England): “to push, strike”; origin uncertain

Other words from bunt

  • bunter, noun

Words Nearby bunt

Other definitions for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt2
[ buhnt ]

noun
  1. Nautical. the middle part of a square sail.

  2. the bagging part of a fishing net or bagging middle area of various cloth objects.

Origin of bunt

2
First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain

Other definitions for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt3
[ buhnt ]

nounPlant Pathology.
  1. a smut disease of wheat in which the kernels are replaced by the black, foul-smelling spores of fungi of the genus Tilletia.

Origin of bunt

3
First recorded in 1595–1605; origin uncertain

Other words from bunt

  • bunted, adjective

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

How to use bunt in a sentence

  • In order to make it difficult for Crispin to bunt, Grant put one over high and closetoo high and too close.

  • He saw Grant looking toward the bench and placing himself in position to get away swiftly on the bunt.

  • The little bunt had proved so totally unexpected that the Belden players were caught flat-footed.

  • That fellow never swung at a ball before—that one never heard of a bunt—they throw like girls—Oh!

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey
  • Pitcher and baseman ran for the bunt; Hollis was safe, and the sprinting Dreer went to third without even drawing a throw.

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (1 of 3)

bunt1

/ (bʌnt) /


verb
  1. (of an animal) to butt (something) with the head or horns

  2. to cause (an aircraft) to fly in part of an inverted loop or (of an aircraft) to fly in such a loop

  1. US and Canadian (in baseball) to hit (a pitched ball) very gently

noun
  1. the act or an instance of bunting

Origin of bunt

1
C19: perhaps nasalized variant of butt ³

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt2

/ (bʌnt) /


noun
  1. nautical the baggy centre of a fishing net or other piece of fabric, such as a square sail

Origin of bunt

2
C16: perhaps from Middle Low German bunt bundle

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt3

/ (bʌnt) /


noun
  1. a disease of cereal plants caused by smut fungi (genus Tilletia)

Origin of bunt

3
C17: of unknown origin

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