punt

[puhnt]

noun

Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground.Compare drop kick, place kick.
a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.
Glassmaking. kick(def 23b).

verb (used with object)

Football. to kick (a dropped ball) before it touches the ground.
to propel (a small boat) by thrusting against the bottom of a lake or stream, especially with a pole.
to convey in or as if in a punt.

verb (used without object)

to punt a football.
to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake.
to travel or have an outing in a punt.
Informal. to equivocate or delay: If they ask you for exact sales figures, you'll have to punt.

Origin of punt

before 1000; 1835–45 for def 1; Old English: flat-bottomed boat (not attested in Middle English) < Latin pontō punt, pontoon¹; sense “to kick a dropped ball” perhaps via sense “to propel (a boat) by shoving”

Related formspunt·er, noun

punt

[puhnt]

verb (used without object)

Cards. to lay a stake against the bank, as at faro.
Slang. to gamble, especially to bet on horse races or other sporting events.

noun

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

Origin of punt

1705–15; < French ponter, derivative of ponte punter, point in faro < Spanish punto point

Related formspunt·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for punter

Contemporary Examples of punter

The clip below, of Mayall hamming it up when he realises a punter is filming him at a charity auction, is a classic.
British Comedian Rik Mayall, 56, Dies Suddenly
Tom Sykes
June 9, 2014

Historical Examples of punter

On examining the face of the punter who had made these ravages I guessed the game.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
In case of his refusal the card is offered to the second punter.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1
Various
Not as good as we are, on the whole, but they've got a punter—Gridley—who's a perfect wizard!
Play the Game!
Ruth Comfort Mitchell
The corruption from punter, or boat-rope, to painter, seems obvious.
Notes and Queries, No. 181, April 16, 1853
Various
The dealer has an eight and king, the punter a five and three.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)
Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for punter

punter

noun

a person who punts a boat

punter

noun

a person who kicks a ball

punter

noun

a person who places a bet
informal any member of the public, esp when a customerthe punters flock into the sales
slang a prostitute's client
slang a victim of a con man

punt

noun

an open flat-bottomed boat with square ends, propelled by a poleSee quant 1

verb

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

Word Origin for punt

Old English punt shallow boat, from Latin pontō punt, pontoon 1

punt

noun

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

verb

to kick (a ball, etc) using a punt

Word Origin for punt

C19: perhaps a variant of English dialect bunt to push, perhaps a nasalized variant of butt ³

punt

verb

(intr) to gamble; bet

noun

a gamble or bet, esp against the bank, as in roulette, or on horses
Also called: punter a person who bets
take a punt at Australian and NZ informal to have an attempt or try at (something)

Word Origin for punt

C18: from French ponter to punt, from ponte bet laid against the banker, from Spanish punto point, from Latin punctum

punt

⁴

noun

(formerly) the Irish pound

Word Origin for punt

Irish Gaelic: pound

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

Word Origin and History for punter

1888 in football, agent noun from punt (v.).

punt

n.1

"kick," 1845; see punt (v.).

punt

n.2

"flat-bottomed river boat," late Old English punt, perhaps an ancient survival of British Latin ponto "flat-bottomed boat" (see OED), a kind of Gallic transport (Caesar), also "floating bridge" (Gellius), from Latin pontem (nominative pons) "bridge" (see pontoon). Or from or influenced by Old French cognate pont "large, flat boat."

punt

"to kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground," 1845, first in a Rugby list of football rules, perhaps from dialectal punt "to push, strike," alteration of Midlands dialect bunt "to push, butt with the head," of unknown origin, perhaps echoic. Student slang meaning "give up, drop a course so as not to fail," 1970s, is because a U.S. football team punts when it cannot advance the ball. Related: Punted; punting.