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• puck
  puck

  noun

  a black disk of vulcanized rubber that is to be hit into the goal.
• Puck
  Puck

  noun

  a particularly mischievous sprite in English folklore who appears as a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

Explanation

If you hit a puck with a long stick on a regular basis, you're probably a hockey player. A puck is a round, hard rubber disc. Dictionaries hate to resort to "origin uncertain," but a few of them do when it comes to puck, the small rubber disk used in ice hockey. One theory is that it's related to the verb poke, by way of the archaic verb form of puck, "to hit or strike." Its toehold in history got firmer footing 90 years ago, when the National Hockey League was formed. In the 1930's, hockey players were referred to as pucksters in sports reporting lingo.

Example Sentences

The play started with defenseman Rasmus Andersson firing the puck on goal from the right-wing boards following a faceoff.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

Vegas was also plagued by poor passing and puck handling while the Ducks defenders did a good job of keeping the crease clear.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

The game plan worked well enough in Game 1, where a mishandled puck led to Logan O’Connor’s breakaway goal early in the third period, a score that proved to be the difference.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

“Each takes money and time. It’s better to be skating to where the puck is going. Nobody is talking about the snow globe of the future.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

A hologram of neon greens, reds, and yellows explodes from the puck, making my eyes ache.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer