punt
/pʌnt/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms punts punting punted
- noun (nautical) A narrow shallow boat, square at both ends, traditionally propelled by a pole.
- verb (nautical) To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.
- verb Of a fish, to walk along the seafloor using its fins as limbs.
- verb To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.
- verb (rugby, American football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, soccer, transitive, intransitive) To kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground. (This puts the ball farther from the goal across which the opposing team is attempting to score, so improves the chances of the team punting.)
- verb (soccer) To kick a bouncing ball far and high.
- verb (colloquial, transitive, intransitive) To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).
- verb To retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports.
- verb (colloquial, intransitive) To make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives.
- verb (colloquial, transitive) To eject; to kick out of a place.
- noun (rugby, American football, soccer) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.
- noun (obsolete) A point in the game of faro.
- noun (obsolete) The act of playing basset, baccarat, faro, etc.
- noun A bet or wager. “Anyone up for a punt on Randwick?”
- noun (Australia) Gambling, as a pastime, especially betting on horseraces or the dogs.
- noun A highly speculative investment or other commitment.
- noun A wild guess.
- noun The indentation in the base of a wine bottle.
- noun (glassblowing) A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece.
- verb To play basset, baccara, faro, etc.
Synonyms
stab Irish pound Irish punt pound punting pole bet on back gage stake game
Etymology
From Old English punt, from Latin pontō (“Gaulish flat-bottomed boat, pontoon”), from pons (“bridge”); readopted from Middle Low German punte (“ferry boat”) or Middle Dutch ponte (“ferry boat”) of the same origin.
Possibly a dialectal variant of bunt. Rugby is the origin of the sports usage of the term.
Borrowed from French pointe or Spanish punto (“point”). Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, and punto.
Borrowed from Irish punt, from Middle English pund. Doublet of funt, pfund, pood, and pound.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To play at basset, baccara, faro. or omber; to gamble.
- noun Act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
- noun A flat-bottomed boat with square ends. It is adapted for use in shallow waters.
- verb To propel, as a boat in shallow water, by pushing with a pole against the bottom; to push or propel (anything) with exertion.
Etymology [F. ponter, or It. puntare, fr. L. punctum point. See Point.]
Etymology [AS., fr. L. ponto punt, pontoon. See Pontoon.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “punt”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details