puck

¹ American  

[puhk] / pʌk /

noun

1. Ice Hockey. a black disk of vulcanized rubber that is to be hit into the goal.

2. Computers, British. mouse.

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Puck ² American  

[puhk] / pʌk /

noun

1. Also called hobgoblin.  Also called Robin Goodfellow.  a particularly mischievous sprite in English folklore who appears as a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

2. puck, a malicious or mischievous demon or spirit; a goblin.

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puck ¹ British  

/ pʌk /

noun

1. a small disc of hard rubber used in ice hockey

2. a stroke at the ball in hurling

3. slang a sharp blow

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verb

1. to strike (the ball) in hurling

2. slang to strike hard; punch

puck ² British  

/ pʌk /

noun

1. Also called: Robin Goodfellow.  (often capital) a mischievous or evil spirit

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Other Word Forms

• puckish adjective

Etymology

Origin of puck¹

First recorded in 1890–95; alteration of poke ¹

Origin of Puck²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English pouke, Old English pūca; cognate with Old Norse pūki a mischievous demon

Example Sentences

“We want to invest in places where the puck is going so that America can control its own future.”

From Barron's

The puck that Hughes smacked into the net in overtime to give the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” was seemingly forgotten amid the raucous celebration.

From Los Angeles Times

Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

From Los Angeles Times

Defence giant Raytheon makes a device called Landshield, which is about the size of an ice hockey puck in its smallest form.

From BBC

The players use sledges with two blades and two sticks to push themselves and handle the puck, and games consist of three 15-minute periods.

From BBC