Definition of "punt"

punt¹

/pʌnt/

noun
plural punts
1. (nautical) A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole.
verb
third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted
1. (nautical) To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.
2. Of a fish, to walk along the seafloor using its fins as limbs.

punt²

/pʌnt/

verb
third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted
1. To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.
  Quotations
  At the dump he emptied the station wagon quickly and only once punted a bag of refuse, exploding it like a pinata at a Mexican Christmas.
  1975, Barry Targan, Harry Belten and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, page 133
  He even hated pets—I once saw him punt a cat.
  2019, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, We Cast a Shadow, One World, page 100
  1. (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.)
  2. (soccer) To kick a bouncing ball far and high.
    Quotations
    With five minutes remaining Hennessey was down well to block another Vukcevic shot, while Gunter was smartly in to punt away the dangerous loose ball.
    2011 September 2, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC‎
2. (colloquial, intransitive) To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).
  Quotations
  The briefer reported it had been terminated on orders from Secretary Schlesinger, but attributed this to a sense Shamrock produced little, not to the fact it had been discovered. The NSA briefer punted on whether Fort Meade had been reading Americans' private messages, ...
  2014, John Prados, The Family Jewels: The CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power, University of Texas Press, page 91
3. To retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports.
  Quotations
  Punting: Using svn revert¶ If you decide that you want to throw out your changes and start your edits again (whether this occurs after a conflict or anytime), just revert your changes
  ca. 2002, Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W. Fitzpatrick, C. Michael Pilato, “Basic Work Cycle”, in Version Control with Subversion‎
4. (colloquial, intransitive) To make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives.
5. (colloquial, transitive) To eject; to kick out of a place.
  Quotations
  The user is punted from the channel, and must rejoin to gain access.
  2001, Roger A. Grimes, Malicious Mobile Code: Virus Protection for Windows, page 236
noun
plural punts
1. (rugby, American football, soccer) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.

punt³

/pʌnt/

noun
plural punts
1. A point in the game of faro.
2. The act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
3. A bet or wager.
4. (Australia) Gambling, as a pastime, especially betting on horseraces or the dogs.
5. A highly speculative investment or other commitment.
6. A wild guess.
7. An indentation in the base of a wine bottle.
8. (glassblowing) A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece.
verb
third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted
1. To play at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
  Quotations
  Here it was that, guarded by double doors, Sir Francis smoked cigars, and read Bell’s Life in London, and went to sleep after dinner, when he was not smoking over the billiard-table at his clubs, or punting at the gambling-houses in Saint James’s.
  1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 38, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850
2. (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK) To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally
  Quotations
  She heard […] of his punting at gaming tables.
  1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […]
  Whether you want to gamble on a horse race, bet on which player will score first in a game of football, have a punt on a particular tennis player winning a grand slam event, you are buying a chance, a chance which is measured in terms of probability, ‘the odds’.
  2004, John Buglear, “Is it worth the risk? – introducing probability”, in Quantitative methods for business: the A-Z of QM‎, page 339
  Eriksson's men still worth a punt
  2006 June 23, Dan Roebuck, “Eriksson's men still worth a punt”, in The Guardian‎
  Australians have a reputation for being keen to bet on two flies climbing up a wall and today young ones often take a casual classroom punt
  2009 November 3, Sarah Collerton, “Cup punt not child's play”, in ABC News‎
3. (figuratively) To make a highly speculative investment or other commitment, or take a wild guess.

punt⁴

/pʊnt/

noun
plural punts
1. The Irish pound, used as the unit of currency of Ireland until it was replaced by the euro in 2002.

Definition of "punt"

punt1

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verb

punt2

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punt3

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punt4

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punt¹

punt²

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punt⁴