bunt

¹

[buhnt]

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.

   1. the act of bunting.

   2. a bunted ball.

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

bunt

²

[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.

bunt

³

[buhnt]

noun

Plant 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.

bunt

¹

/ 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

3. (in baseball) to hit (a pitched ball) very gently

noun

1. the act or an instance of bunting

bunt

²

/ bʌnt /

noun

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

bunt

³

/ bʌnt /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• bunter noun
• bunted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunt¹

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

Origin of bunt²

First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain

Origin of bunt³

First recorded in 1595–1605; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunt¹

C19: perhaps nasalized variant of _butt ³

Origin of bunt²

C16: perhaps from Middle Low German bunt _bundle

Origin of bunt³

C17: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Said Rojas: “I’m happy that he called it right there on the field. Because it was the right play with the right runner, knowing the guy was going to bunt.”

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During a sixth-inning at-bat, Fry was attempting to bunt when the ball missed the bat completely and hit him in the nose and mouth area.

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At their core, they are a team built to bludgeon opponents — not slap singles and drop down sacrifice bunts.

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The Padres scored both their runs in one inning Friday, with a rally that included three singles, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.

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Despite perfectly defending a sacrifice bunt to get the lead runner at third, the Dodgers again failed to escape a late-game threat.

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