pukka

or puck·a

[ puhk-uh ]

/ ˈpʌk ə /

Save This Word!

adjective Indian English.

genuine, reliable, or good; proper.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pukka

First recorded in 1690–1700, pukka is from the Hindi word pakkā cooked, ripe, mature

Words nearby pukka

puka, pukatea, puke, pukeko, pukey, pukka, pukka sahib, puku, pul, pula, pulao

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pukka in a sentence

If they were pukka Prayer Books I'd borrow one and try to read it.
Our Casualty And Other Stories|James Owen Hannay, AKA George A. Birmingham
So I leaned over, broke the news to a pukka Boy who was aloft with me, and told him to sing it out.
Stories of the Ships|Lewis R. Freeman
They had begotten "Pukka" Cunningham, who had hacked the name deeper yet in the crisscrossed annals of a land of war.
Rung Ho!|Talbot Mundy
I gave the old fellow a pukka rupee, for which liberal donation the pair pretended to offer up prayers on my behalf.
The Diary of a Hunter from the Punjab to the Karakorum Mountains|Augustus Henry Irby

They dwelt forcibly on his giving them five rupees, backsheesh—pukka rupees, too.
The Diary of a Hunter from the Punjab to the Karakorum Mountains|Augustus Henry Irby

British Dictionary definitions for pukka

pukka

pucka

/ (ˈpʌkə) /

adjective (esp in India)

properly or perfectly done, constructed, etca pukka road

genuinepukka sahib

Word Origin for pukka

C17: from Hindi pakkā firm, from Sanskrit pakva

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