punt

¹ American  

[puhnt] / pʌnt /

noun

1. Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground.

2. a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.

3. Glassmaking. kick.

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verb (used with object)

1. Football. to kick (a dropped ball) before it touches the ground.

2. to propel (a small boat) by thrusting against the bottom of a lake or stream, especially with a pole.

3. to convey in or as if in a punt.

verb (used without object)

1. to punt a football.

2. to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake.

3. to travel or have an outing in a punt.

4. Informal. to equivocate or delay.

   If they ask you for exact sales figures, you'll have to punt.

punt ² American  

[puhnt] / pʌnt /

verb (used without object)

1. Cards. to lay a stake against the bank, as at faro.

2. Slang. to gamble, especially to bet on horse races or other sporting events.

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noun

1. Cards. a person who lays a stake against the bank.

punt ³ American  

[poont, puhnt] / pʊnt, pʌnt /

noun

1. a monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 pence; Irish pound.

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punt ⁴ American  

[puhnt] / pʌnt /

noun

1. kick.

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Punt ⁵ American  

[poont] / pʊnt /

noun

1. an ancient Egyptian name of an area not absolutely identified but believed to be Somaliland.

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punt ¹ British  

/ pʌnt /

verb

1. (intr) to gamble; bet

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noun

1. a gamble or bet, esp against the bank, as in roulette, or on horses

2. Also called: punter.  a person who bets

3. informal to have an attempt or try at (something)

punt ² British  

/ pʌnt /

noun

1. a kick in certain sports, such as rugby, in which the ball is released and kicked before it hits the ground

2. any long high kick

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verb

1. to kick (a ball, etc) using a punt

punt ³ British  

/ pʌnt /

noun

1. an open flat-bottomed boat with square ends, propelled by a pole See quant 1

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verb

1. to propel (a boat, esp a punt) by pushing with a pole on the bottom of a river, etc

punt ⁴ British  

/ pʊnt /

noun

1. (formerly) the Irish pound

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Other Word Forms

• punter noun

Etymology

Origin of punt¹

First recorded before 1000; 1835–45 punt ¹ for def. 1; Old English: “flat-bottomed boat” (not attested in Middle English ), from Latin pontō “pontoon, punt” ( pontoon ¹ ); the sense “to kick a dropped ball” comes perhaps via the semse “to propel (a boat) by shoving”

Origin of punt²

First recorded in 1705–15; from French ponter, derivative of ponte “punter; point in faro,” from Spanish punto; point

Origin of punt³

First recorded in 1970–75; from Irish, from English pound ²

Origin of punt⁴

First recorded in 1820–25; probably shortening of punty ( def. )

Example Sentences

Most lawyers expect the Supreme Court to punt on refunds—possibly to the Court of International Trade—if it strikes down IEEPA.

From Barron's

Over the last two seasons, Kingston has also returned three punts for touchdowns.

From Los Angeles Times

Maye had failed to get the Patriots offense moving throughout, as New England was forced to punt away eight of its first nine possessions.

From Barron's

Josh Adams was picked out by Dan Edwards' precise punt for Wales's solitary try five minutes after the restart, but, for the most part, the one-way traffic continued to steamroll the visitors.

From BBC

A big gambler at the time, Virgo reckoned he won more with a hefty punt on Dawn Johnny and Walter Swinburn winning the Chester Cup than he would have for lifting the World Championship trophy.

From BBC