puck

1 of 2

noun (1)

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

Examples of puck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
These dense pastries are about the size of a hockey puck and packed with rich fillings like lotus seed, red bean and salted egg yolk. Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2023 Konstantin Koltsov of Belarus battles for the puck during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Town & Country, 7 Sep. 2023 Unlike other gifted passers his age who opt to skate to the outside in search of seams, Poitras has a knack for creating those defensive faults himself by bringing the puck into Grade-A ice. Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023 Austin Irwin was born and raised in Michigan, and, despite getting shelled by hockey pucks during a not-so-successful goaltending career through high school and college, still has all of his teeth. Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 5 Sep. 2023 The Sphere, stands at 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide and reportedly has the largest LED lights with 1.2 million lights the size of hockey pucks. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2023 Gently pat the tops and sides to form round pucks; don’t worry if the tops are a little craggy. cleveland, 28 Aug. 2023 Orlov excels at getting the puck out of the zone and scored a bunch in Boston after his trade last season. Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 1 July 2023 There’s the larger, pricier book-style foldable that unfurls from a vertical hinge to expose a tablet-sized screen, and the clamshell flip phone with a horizontal hinge that snaps closed into a wallet-sized square puck. WIRED, 24 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puck.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of puck was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near puck

Cite this Entry

“Puck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puck. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

puck

1 of 2 noun
: 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)"

More from Merriam-Webster on puck

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