pun

[ puhn ]

noun

1. 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.
2. the word or phrase used in this way.

verb (used without object)

, punned, pun·ning.

1. to make puns.

pun

¹

/ pʌn /

noun

1. 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

1. intr to make puns

pun

²

/ pʌn /

verb

1. tr to pack (earth, rubble, etc) by pounding

pun

1. 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

• punless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pun¹

First recorded in 1655–65; perhaps special use of pun, variant (now dialectal) of pound ¹, in the sense “to mistreat (words)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of pun¹

C17: possibly from Italian puntiglio point of detail, wordplay; see punctilio

Origin of pun²

C16: dialectal variant of pound ¹

Example Sentences

Hazel’s giant tail keeps harassing him and she clacks her teeth, shakes as if frozen in front of an oncoming car, and makes more “nuts” puns than you might expect.

From Los Angeles Times

He also mentioned “attacking food prices by going after some of these anti-competitive mergers ... attacking climate change by continuing our investment in renewable energy, and also really diving into the water issue. No pun intended.”

From Los Angeles Times

The pair then ran through a series of puns on Harris' name, with the vice president pledging to "end the dramala."

From Salon

And the “memoir” we’re invited to observe is a wounding one, rife with heartbreak and trauma — but also, as it turns out, raunchy humor and slapstick pratfalls, literate puns and winking sight gags.

From Los Angeles Times

When I boil it down — cooking pun! — that excitement and passion for discovering more of it is why I cook.

From Salon

Related Words

• double entendre
• joke
• quip

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.

<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRH-Ywpz1_I" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

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?

• wordplay
• humor
• joke
• play on words
• double entendre

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.