puck

¹ American  

[puhk] / pʌk /

noun

1. Ice Hockey. a black disk of vulcanized rubber that is to be hit into the goal.

2. Computers, British. mouse.

---

Puck ² American  

[puhk] / pʌk /

noun

1. Also called hobgoblin.  Also called Robin Goodfellow.  a particularly mischievous sprite in English folklore who appears as a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

2. puck, a malicious or mischievous demon or spirit; a goblin.

---

puck ¹ British  

/ pʌk /

noun

1. a small disc of hard rubber used in ice hockey

2. a stroke at the ball in hurling

3. slang a sharp blow

---

verb

1. to strike (the ball) in hurling

2. slang to strike hard; punch

puck ² British  

/ pʌk /

noun

1. Also called: Robin Goodfellow.  (often capital) a mischievous or evil spirit

---

Other Word Forms

• puckish adjective

Etymology

Origin of puck¹

First recorded in 1890–95; alteration of poke ¹

Origin of Puck²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English pouke, Old English pūca; cognate with Old Norse pūki a mischievous demon

Example Sentences

“We want to invest in places where the puck is going so that America can control its own future.”

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Hughes is happy “his” puck surfaced but believes he is the rightful owner of a piece of memorabilia that David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, estimated might be worth $1 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

The players use sledges with two blades and two sticks to push themselves and handle the puck, and games consist of three 15-minute periods.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

He dipped right, and tried to flick the puck to the corner above my opposite shoulder, but I snapped my head and blocked it off my face mask.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely