punt

¹

[ puhnt ]

noun

1. Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground. Compare drop kick, place kick.
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 ( def 23b ).

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

[ puhnt ]

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.

noun

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

punt

³

[ poont, puhnt ]

noun

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

punt

⁴

[ puhnt ]

noun

1. kick ( def 23b ).

Punt

⁵

[ poont ]

noun

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

punt

¹

/ pʊnt /

noun

1. (formerly) the Irish pound

punt

²

/ 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

verb

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

punt

³

/ pʌnt /

noun

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

verb

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

punt

⁴

/ pʌnt /

verb

1. intr to gamble; bet

noun

1. a gamble or bet, esp against the bank, as in roulette, or on horses
2. Also calledpunter a person who bets
3. take a punt at informal.
   to have an attempt or try at (something)

Other Words From

• punter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of punt¹

First recorded before 1000; 1835–45 punt ¹fordef 1; Old English: “flat-bottomed boat” (not attested in Middle English ), from Latin pontō “pontoon, punt” ( pontoon ¹none ); 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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of punt¹

Irish Gaelic: pound

Origin of punt²

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

Origin of punt³

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

Origin of punt⁴

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

Example Sentences

That means it’s likely the passage of the Farm Bill will be punted yet again into 2025.

From Salon

John Dramani Mahama has been Ghana's president once before - and now he is back for another punt at the top job.

From BBC

Now it’s not clear whether the case will be dismissed or whether sentencing will be punted until after Trump’s second term in office.

From Salon

The Chargers punted five times in the second half.

From Los Angeles Times

Tennessee committed a penalty and was forced to punt, an opportunity squandered.

From Los Angeles Times