bunt

[ buhnt ]

/ bʌnt /

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verb (used with object)

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

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.

verb (used without object)

to push (something) with the horns or head.

Baseball. to bunt a ball.

noun

a push with the head or horns; butt.

Baseball.

the act of bunting.
a bunted ball.

Nearby words

buns, bunsen, bunsen burner, bunsen's solubility coefficient, bunsen, robert wilhelm, bunt, bunt order, buntal, bunting, buntline, buntline, ned

Origin of bunt

1760–70; orig. British dial. (Central and S England): push, strike; of obscure origin

Related forms

bunt·er, noun

Definition for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt

[ buhnt ]

/ bʌnt /

noun

Nautical. the middle part of a square sail.

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

Origin of bunt

First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain

Definition for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt

[ buhnt ]

/ bʌnt /

noun Plant Pathology.

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

First recorded in 1595–1605; earlier, puffball; of uncertain origin

Also called stinking smut.

Related forms

bunt·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bunt

Bubbs followed with the third bunt, while Crowfoot and Barking moved up.
Frank Merriwell's Son|Burt L. Standish
On the next, Miller lay down a bunt that rolled slowly along the third base line.
Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team|Lester Chadwick
In the best known species, Tilletia caries, they constitute the “bunt” of wheat.
Fungi: Their Nature and Uses|Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
In order to make it difficult for Crispin to bunt, Grant put one over high and closetoo high and too close.
The New Boys at Oakdale|Morgan Scott

Then followed a bunt, and while Dan Baxter fumbled with the ball Jack got to first.
The Putnam Hall Rivals|Arthur M. Winfield

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (1 of 3)

bunt

/ (bʌnt) /

verb

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

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

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

noun

the act or an instance of bunting

Word Origin for bunt

C19: perhaps nasalized variant of butt ³

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt

/ (bʌnt) /

noun

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

Word Origin for bunt

C16: perhaps from Middle Low German bunt bundle

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt

/ (bʌnt) /

noun

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

Word Origin for bunt

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