putt

American  

[puht] / pʌt /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to strike (a gollf ball) gently so as to make it roll along the green into the hole.

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noun

1. an act of putting.

2. a stroke made in putting.

putt British  

/ pʌt /

noun

1. a stroke on the green with a putter to roll the ball into or near the hole

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verb

1. to strike (the ball) in this way

Etymology

Origin of putt

First recorded in 1735–45; originally Scots, variant of put

Explanation

To putt is to hit a golf ball softly with a club, usually when you're close to the hole. Golfers use a special club called a putter when they're ready to putt. The distance between your golf ball and the hole determines how you putt, but the stroke is generally gentle, intended to get the ball on the green or all the way into the hole. Unlike other golf strokes that send the ball arcing through the air, a putt is always meant to simply roll it. Putt is a Scottish word that originally meant "to shove" or "to push," and came to include the golf meaning in 1743.

Example Sentences

McIlroy briefly reclaimed a one-shot lead but gave that back with a bogey on 17, bending over in exasperation when he left a par putt just short.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

On Thursday, MacIntyre had also sworn after a slightly wayward tee shot on the 12th hole and again after hitting a putt off the green on the 13th.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Let children putt on a mat in the house or just hit it across the floor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

If you don’t start to read a putt until it is your turn, and you do that 18 times, you have lost your license to complain about the pace of others.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

With a solid thump, the shot putt landed on Bull’s left shoe.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy