punt

noun

(rugby, American football, soccer) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.

(nautical) A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole.

A point in the game of faro.

The act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.

A bet or wager.

(Australia) Gambling, as a pastime, especially betting on horseraces or the dogs.

A highly speculative investment or other commitment.

A wild guess.

(glassblowing) A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece.

An indentation in the base of a wine bottle.

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

(historical) A former kingdom in the Afar Triangle, Horn of Africa, Africa, in what is now Ethiopia. A country contemporaneous with the Old Kingdom of Egypt, where frankincense, gold, ebony, ivory is found.

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.)

To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.

(soccer) To kick a bouncing ball far and high.

(colloquial, intransitive) To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).

(colloquial, transitive) To eject; to kick out of a place.

(colloquial, intransitive) To make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives.

To retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports.

(nautical) To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.

Of a fish, to walk along the seafloor using its fins as limbs.

(Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK) To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally

(figuratively) To make a highly speculative investment or other commitment, or take a wild guess.

To play at basset, baccara, faro, etc.

Roots

pontopunt- · Latin · flat-bottomed boat / bridge-pontoon

Synonyms for punt

kickingn staken

Synonyms & related words for punt

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Words related to punt

Explore words related to punt — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include touchback, returner, placekick, touchdown, kicker, downfield, fumble, kickoff. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for punt

Common synonyms for punt include kicking, stake — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does punt come from?

The word punt breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root punt, from Latin ponto (“flat-bottomed boat / bridge-pontoon”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.