puck

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈpək 

plural pucks

1

: a vulcanized rubber disk used in ice hockey

2

: something (such as a food item) that resembles a puck

It is imperative to remove the coffee puck after each brew.

—Ethan Miller

The gourmet burger revolution has swept into backyards and decks, as home cooks forgo frozen pucks of beef for fresh homemade patties.

—Eric Vellend

There are GPS pucks in all buses that track the bus.

—Tina Deetz, quoted in UWIRE Text

puck

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural pucks

1

: a mischievous sprite : hobgoblin

specifically, Puck : robin goodfellow

2

archaic : an evil spirit : demon

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• fairy
• elf
• faery
• goblin
• faerie
• sprite
• troll

Examples of puck in a Sentence

Noun (2)

dreamed that her garden was the secret meeting place of pucks and sprites

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

During the tests, Olympus was mounted upside-down on one of ORBIT's floating platforms, which glides on a thin cushion of air across an ultra-flat floor without any friction, reproducing a state of weightless free-floating in two dimensions, similar to how pucks float on an air hockey table. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 9 Aug. 2025

The series will open on Friday at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, a 7:04 p.m. start, then move to Xcel Energy Center, soon to be Grand Casino Arena, for a 5:30 p.m. puck drop at St. Paul on the Wild’s home ice. —Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2025

The first non-TV device to support the Freely platform will be a plug-in streaming puck delivered by French entertainment technology company Netgem. —John Archer, Forbes.com, 31 July 2025

Inside were a few dozen contraptions that looked like fancy desk toys — round pucks of concrete shielded by a spinning piece of metal resembling the ribs of an umbrella. —Alex Harris july 25, Miami Herald, 25 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

English dialect puck to poke, hit, probably from Irish poc butt, stroke in hurling, literally, buck (male deer)

Noun (2)

Middle English puke, from Old English pūca; akin to Old Norse pūki devil

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for puck

• chuck
• cluck
• duck
• huck
• luck
• muck
• pluck
• ruck
• schmuck
• shuck
• snuck
• struck

Kids Definition

puck

1 of 2 noun

ˈpək 

: a fairy or spirit who plays tricks on human beings

puck

2 of 2 noun

: a rubber disk used in ice hockey

Etymology

Noun

Old English pūca "evil spirit"

Noun

from a dialect word puck "to hit, poke," probably from Irish poc "butt, stroke in hurling," literally, "buck (male deer)"