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

“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

Defence giant Raytheon makes a device called Landshield, which is about the size of an ice hockey puck in its smallest form.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

To supplement the noise, it has flashing red lights and a bed-shaking puck for under the mattress or pillow.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

McDavid couldn’t get off a clean shot and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — whose game-long heroics will forever be remembered — slapped the puck away.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

I could stop a puck from passing between the pipes—but I had to make it all the way to winter before anybody would care about that.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely