putt

American  

[puht] / pʌt /

verb (used with or without object)

• putts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• putted,
  past participle,  past
• putting
  present participle

1. to strike (a gollf ball) gently so as to make it roll along the green into the hole.

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noun

• putts
  plural

1. an act of putting.

2. a stroke made in putting.

putt British  

/ pʌt /

noun

1. a stroke on the green with a putter to roll the ball into or near the hole

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verb

1. to strike (the ball) in this way

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• putts
  plural

Participles

• putting
  present
• putted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• putt
  simple
• putts
  simple
• have putted
  perfect
• has putted
  perfect
• am putting
  progressive
• are putting
  progressive
• is putting
  progressive
• have been putting
  perfect progressive
• has been putting
  perfect progressive

Past

• putted
  simple
• had putted
  perfect
• was putting
  progressive
• were putting
  progressive
• had been putting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will putt
  simple
• will have putted
  perfect
• will be putting
  progressive
• will have been putting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of putt

First recorded in 1735–45; originally Scots, variant of put

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Explanation

To putt is to hit a golf ball softly with a club, usually when you're close to the hole. Golfers use a special club called a putter when they're ready to putt. The distance between your golf ball and the hole determines how you putt, but the stroke is generally gentle, intended to get the ball on the green or all the way into the hole. Unlike other golf strokes that send the ball arcing through the air, a putt is always meant to simply roll it. Putt is a Scottish word that originally meant "to shove" or "to push," and came to include the golf meaning in 1743.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

putt putts putted putting

It fell to Woad to sink the putt that ensured Europe would win, with four matches still to be completed.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

"It's so nice when you stand over a putt and you know that... you have it to win the match and then you actually do it. That's the best feeling," said Stark.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

With the light fading on the Bernardus course in the Netherlands, Jennifer Kupcho holed a nerve-shredding putt from the edge of the 18th green to snatch a point and leave the teams tied at 8-8.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Whaley rounded off his win with a superb left-to-right putt for birdie at 15 to become the first English amateur to triumph in the US Amateur since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Even Walter Cronkite’s voice had that quiet excitement of a sportscaster announcing a big-deal golf putt.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Ciganda continued her fine form from Friday, holing two long-range putts on the front nine to put the European pairing in the box seat.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

In his second round alone, he missed seven birdie putts from 15 feet or less - four inside 10 feet - and was ranked 60th in the field on the greens.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

But she was 10 putts better in the final two circuits even with crucial misses at the ninth, 12th and 14th holes of the final round.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

Like most other players, he putts glove free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

He said the two-feet putts frighten him, that as soon as he settles himself down to the business of putting in such a case the hole seems to become less and less.

From The Happy Golfer Being Some Experiences, Reflections, and a Few Deductions of a Wandering Golfer by Henry Leach

Here’s the way my golf buddies roll: Obviously, eagle or birdie putts must be putted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

"Once I started to trust my reads a bit on the back nine and I went more with my first instinct, I putted a little bit better," McIlroy said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026

"I felt like I did everything well. Drove it well, approach play was good, and chipped and putted well."

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025

So Rodriguez began holding off on his antics until other players had putted out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024

Until one morning I putted to work and there were five pickups and more people all with mowers and bags and rakes....

From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen

Arizona faces especially large cutbacks because the CAP isn’t nearly as old as other aqueducts, giving it low-priority water rights and putting it among the first in line for cuts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Some Tesla loyalists have been waiting nearly a decade for their Roadsters after putting down deposits of up to $250,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Successful custom chips could let Microsoft retain more of the money it earns from AI, while putting pressure on the prices Nvidia can charge.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Taking in villages and towns surrounding Exmoor National Park, the event offers walks, talks and shows - putting the dark, clear, night sky into full focus.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“No, no. It’s quite all right,” Clare said, putting on a fake air of calm.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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