punt

1 of 7

verb (1)

ˈpənt 

punted; punting; punts

transitive verb

1

: to kick (something, such as a football or soccer ball) with the top of the foot before the ball which is dropped from the hands hits the ground

2

: to pass (something, such as a problem) to someone else

The mayor, according to his press release, has punted this problem back to city staff …

—John Lorinc

3

: to defer (something) indefinitely : table sense 1a

There's a sense that leaders around the state would rather punt the issue of high school sports … than make a difficult decision.

—Morning Sentinel (Waterville, ME)

intransitive verb

1

: to punt a ball

2

: to defer a decision about something

—often used with on

According to the report, the consensus for now appears to be to punt on whether an invention conceived of by AI is eligible for patent protection …

—Chethan K. Srinivasa

… while Congress continues to punt on the issue, four states passed ballot initiatives in 2014 to raise the minimum wage and cities across the country have committed to or already done the same.

—Katie McDonough

punt

2 of 7

noun (1)

ˈpənt 

: the act or an instance of punting (see punt entry 1) a ball

punt

3 of 7

noun (2)

ˈpənt 

: a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with square ends usually propelled with a pole

punt

4 of 7

verb (2)

ˈpənt 

punted; punting; punts

transitive verb

: to propel (a boat, such as a punt) with a pole

punt

5 of 7

noun (3)

ˈpu̇nt 

: the monetary pound of Ireland

punt

6 of 7

verb (3)

ˈpənt 

punted; punting; punts

intransitive verb

1

: to play at a gambling game against the banker

2

British : gamble

punt

7 of 7

noun (4)

ˈpənt 

plural punts

: a concave indentation in the bottom of a wine bottle

Examples of punt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Harding had just 78 yards total and punted four times. —Erick Taylor, arkansasonline.com, 3 Dec. 2023

On the possession that followed the Lions’ touchdown, the Chiefs stalled, punting with 5:07 left. —Jody Rosen, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023

Instead, O’Connell was content to make the Bears to use their timeouts and then punt the ball back to Chicago. —Steve Silverman, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

But after 10 straight weeks in session, Speaker Mike Johnson’s House managed to avoid (or at least delay) a holiday season shutdown by punting the next federal funding deadline to January. —Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023

Politics in Brief Government shutdown: President Joe Biden has signed the stopgap funding bill passed by the Senate, punting the GOP's spending fight and the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays. —Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2023

After a speaker vote with no winner in the early afternoon, Republicans have decided to punt for another day. —WSJ, 18 Oct. 2023

In Aussie rules players kick on the run, a skill Australian kickers can exploit in the college game by rolling to one side or the other before punting, angling the ball away from the kick returner. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2023

Browning punted five times in the first half against the Rams. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Nov. 2023

Noun

Advertisement The Saints had one more chance near the end of the half, converting a fake punt on fourth down. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2023

The punt was shanked out of bounds and traveled 13 yards from the 17 to the 30. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2023

After stopping a fake punt attempt by the Lakers at their 47, Harding drove inside Grand Valley State's 25 but had a 40-yard field goal sail wide right early in the fourth quarter. —Erick Taylor, arkansasonline.com, 3 Dec. 2023

Dan Campbell, the Lions’ head coach, likes to run fake punts. —Jody Rosen, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023

Max Fletcher hit a 43-yard punt from Arkansas' end zone, but after a 16-yard return, the Gators have the ball at the Razorbacks' 33. —Scottie Bordelon, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2023

Wilson’s first touchdown pass of the game was on a normal drive for the Broncos, where rookie Marvin Mims returned a punt 31 yards from Denver’s 30 to give his team great field position. —Scott Thompson, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023

The senior is Saints’ go-to wide receiver (1,071 yards, 11 TDs), their lock-down cornerback (five interceptions) and their punt returner (a long of 42 yards). —Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2023

But the result looked to be a Hawkeyes victory late in the game until referees called back a controversial punt return. —Scott Thompson, Fox News, 22 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

origin unknown

Noun (2)

Middle English *punt, from Old English, from Latin ponton-, ponto

Noun (3)

Irish, pound, from English pound

Verb (3)

French ponter, from ponte point in some games, play against the banker, from Spanish punto point, from Latin punctum — more at point

Noun (4)

probably a shortening of punt mark or a similar collocation with punt "metal rod used in fashioning hot glass" (shortened from punty), referring to the mark left by the rod in a piece of blown glass

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1845, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1845, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1759, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1975, in the meaning defined above

Verb (3)

1712, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

1862, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing punt

• punt formation

• punt formation

Kids Definition

punt

1 of 4 noun

ˈpənt 

: a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with square ends usually pushed along with a pole

punt

2 of 4 verb

: to propel (as a punt) with a pole

punt

3 of 4 verb

: to kick a football before it touches the ground when dropped from the hands

punter noun

punt

4 of 4 noun

: the act or an instance of punting a ball

Etymology

Noun

Old English punt "a flat-bottomed boat pushed along with a pole," from Latin ponton-, ponto "punt, floating bridge, pontoon" — related to pontoon

Verb

origin unknown

Geographical Definition

Punt

geographical name

ˈpu̇nt 

a part of Africa not certainly identified but probably Somaliland

—an ancient Egyptian name