pun

American  

[puhn] / pʌn /

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.

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verb (used without object)

punned, punning

1. to make puns.

pun ¹ British  

/ pʌn /

verb

1. (tr) to pack (earth, rubble, etc) by pounding

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pun ² British  

/ pʌn /

noun

1. the use of words or phrases to exploit ambiguities and innuendoes in their meaning, usually for humorous effect; a play on words. An example is: "Ben Battle was a soldier bold, And used to war's alarms: But a cannonball took off his legs, So he laid down his arms." (Thomas Hood)

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verb

1. (intr) to make puns

pun Cultural  

1. A humorous substitution of words that are alike in sound but different in meaning (see double-entendre), as in this passage from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll:

   “And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject.

   “Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle, “nine the next, and so on.”

   “What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice.

   “That's the reason they're called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “because they lessen from day to day.”

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Usage

What is a pun? A pun is a humorous use of words with multiple meanings or words that sound similar but have different meanings, as in The gravekeeper buried the evidence under his desk.There are two ways to make a pun. The first involves using a word with more than one meaning to create humorous wordplay, as in The dentist put his assistants through some drills. A drill is both a tool a dentist uses and a training exercise.The second way is to use similar sounding words with different meanings to make humorous wordplay, as in The clown helped the children across the street. It was a kind jester. Here, jester, a type of clown, is used instead of the similar sounding gesture, meaning an action or a courtesy.

Other Word Forms

• punless adjective
• punner noun

Etymology

Origin of pun

First recorded in 1655–65; perhaps special use of pun, variant (now dialectal) of pound ¹, in the sense “to mistreat (words)”

Compare meaning

How does pun compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• pun vs. play on words

Example Sentences

And it wasn’t because of his father’s terrible pun.

From Literature

This was all before sources told The Times last week that Bass ordered an after-action report on the Palisades fire be — no pun intended — watered down to limit legal liability against the city.

From Los Angeles Times

She doesn’t know anyone else yet, so she still thinks my puns are funny and my sketchbook is cool.

From Literature

Then there’s Deflategate, which involved underinflated balls and led to a suspension for Brady and some of the worst puns ever made.

From The Wall Street Journal

And while “Zootopia 2” fared well on the critical front, it’s hard not to feel like it’s ultimately a variation on a tried-and-true formula, even if it folds in timely ideas amid its animal puns.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• double entendre
• joke
• quip