a coarse, open fabric of worsted or cotton for flags, signals, etc.
patriotic and festive decorations made from such cloth, or from paper, usually in the form of draperies, wide streamers, etc., in the colors of the national flag.
flags, especially a vessel's flags, collectively.
a coarse, loosely woven cotton fabric used for flags, etc
decorative flags, pennants, and streamers
flags collectively, esp those of a boat
First recorded in 1735–45; origin uncertain; perhaps originally “cloth for sifting,” hence the verb bunt “to sift,” from Middle English bonten + -ing 1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bunting, bounting, buntyle; further origin unknown
First recorded in 1920–25; special use of bunting 1
Bunting is a type of loosely woven fabric with a specific purpose: making flags. When you salute a flag, you're saluting bunting. Who knew? Bunting is known for two main features: it is loosely woven, and it is used primarily in making flags. Bunting is strong enough to last, but versatile enough to be perfect in making the intricate designs many flags feature. Before it becomes a flag, bunting makes for splendid decoration when hung or draped festively. Bunting is also a synonym for flag.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Havana's leafy middle-class Vedado neighborhood, pints at a dollar a pop were flowing at a watch party in a cultural center festooned with a Brazil flag and World Cup bunting.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
Santa Margarita’s Brody Schumaker, who had eight bunt singles last season, will be asked by his father, Skip, the new manager of the Texas Rangers, to show off his bunting skills at spring training.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
Nile, though, is unencumbered by empathy, guilt, or the urge for compromise, a mile-long bunting of red flags spooled into one cashmere-clad creep.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025
“We go crazy for Christmas, we go crazy for the Fourth of July. We probably have 50 flags and bunting all over the place.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Behind the bands came a big cotton wagon draped with Confederate bunting and pulled by a double team of mules.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Gerwyn Price struggled in his quarter-final against Stephen Bunting but rallied to win and pick up two points that consolidate his place in third.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Bunting means willingly giving up one of your 27 outs, the most precious resource that exists in the game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
It is back-to-back quarter-final exits for Luke Littler, and the world number one was a long way from his best as he fell to a 6-4 loss to Bunting.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
The Ice Man went up another notch in the semis, giving Stephen Bunting no chance as he averaged 112.91 in another 6-2 win.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
Bunting of yellow and red hung from the ceiling.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
