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pun
[ puhn ]
noun
- the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
- the word or phrase used in this way.
verb (used without object)
- to make puns.
pun
1/ pʌn /
noun
- the use of words or phrases to exploit ambiguities and innuendoes in their meaning, usually for humorous effect; a play on words. An example is: "Ben Battle was a soldier bold, And used to war's alarms: But a cannonball took off his legs, So he laid down his arms." (Thomas Hood)
verb
- intr to make puns
pun
2/ pʌn /
verb
- tr to pack (earth, rubble, etc) by pounding
pun
- A humorous substitution of words that are alike in sound but different in meaning ( see double-entendre ), as in this passage from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll :
“And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject.
“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle, “nine the next, and so on.”
“What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice.
“That's the reason they're called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “because they lessen from day to day.”
Derived Forms
- ˈpunner, noun
Other Words From
- punless adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of pun1
Origin of pun2
Compare Meanings
How does pun compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Lyrics from songs like “I’m a Slave 4 U,” “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” and “Stronger” were used as puns in headlines.
Sorry for this inevitable pun, but there seems to be a sea-change in conservation underway.
The phone booth and bookshelves and pantry are all shaped like honeycombs, and the walls are full of puns like Bee Kind.
Report from Week 540, in which we asked for news or historical events to be presented in the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” “A, or B” format of groaner puns or other halfwitticisms.
This presents a risk to spectacular puns accompanied by unspectacular ones, so do your best.
“There aren't any steaks involved, pardon the pun,” says Chin.
A paper published this week illuminated (pun intended) the relationship between light and matter.
Here's to hoping it's not illegal to make a terrible sex-related pun.
Note the bawdy pun in the first example, by which the speaker implies that she came last night.
But at least they "forge" (pun intended) the pieces by him that matter.
He pounded out the pun ordinary by the dozen for the comic weeklies at fifty cents an item.
Win' ruffle up he ha'r, yit he aint move; sun shine down 'pun 'im, yit he aint move.
I explained that he probably intended a pun upon his name, which was Coleman.
"They ought to keep you there for an hour longer for that vile pun," said Cumberland.
I confess that I don't see why a good pun should be thrown aside after it has served as the soul of a single sentence.
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Related Words
More About Pun
What is a pun?
A pun is a humorous use of words with multiple meanings or words that sound similar but have different meanings, as in The gravekeeper buried the evidence under his desk.
There are two ways to make a pun. The first involves using a word with more than one meaning to create humorous wordplay, as in The dentist put his assistants through some drills. A drill is both a tool a dentist uses and a training exercise.
The second way is to use similar sounding words with different meanings to make humorous wordplay, as in The clown helped the children across the street. It was a kind jester. Here, jester, a type of clown, is used instead of the similar sounding gesture, meaning an action or a courtesy.
Why is pun important?
The first records of the term pun come from around 1655. It was possibly used as a variant of the word pound, meaning “to strike with great force.” The idea is that a person making a pun is intentionally mistreating words for comedy.
Not everyone finds puns particularly funny or clever. The terms dad joke and groaner are frequently used to refer to puns that are really obvious (corny) and not funny. Sometimes, the comedy is the fact that the pun itself is ridiculous or cringeworthy.
However, this occasional disapproval of puns hasn’t stopped them from being used in countless jokes and even the titles of movies and other works of popular culture, such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Shanghai Noon (2000).
Did you know … ?
In 2011, the Academy Award for Best Picture was given to a film with a clever pun for its title, The King’s Speech. The title refers to the fact that the film is both about King George VI overcoming his stutter (his speech) and the declaration he had to deliver over the radio during World War II (also his speech).
What are real-life examples of pun?
This video shows a collection of (bad) puns used by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1997 superhero film Batman and Robin.
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Many people use puns to make jokes. Results may vary.
My humor is equivalent to Carlos from Magic School Bus. Blame my bad puns on his influence…
— Kirby Kelly (@kirbyisaboss) April 27, 2015
How many puns, is too many puns, for one 30 minute newscast? Asking for me.
— Mark Taylor (@MarkTaylor) September 27, 2019
What other words are related to pun?
Quiz yourself!
Is the following sentence an example of a pun?
The farmer tried to guard his chickens from predators but he was constantly outfoxed.
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