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

With just over five minutes to go in the Cowboys’ matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and the game tied at 21, Dallas punted the ball away to Xavier Gipson. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025

From there, he was punted between ICE facilities and finally taken to the El Paso Service Processing Center, in Texas. —Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Noun

Dante Moore completed 22-of-30 for 257 yards and two touchdowns, Oregon’s special teams produced a game‑changing 85‑yard punt return, and the Ducks improved to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play with the victory. —Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025

The Cowboys’ defense forced three consecutive punts to allow the offense to work through a three-and-out and a rare Brandon Aubrey missed field goal by scoring on its final possession of the third quarter with a Prescott to Brevyn Spann-Ford 4-yard touchdown. —Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Nov. 2025

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

Rhymes for punt

• blunt
• brunt
• bunt
• front
• grunt
• shunt
• stunt
• affront
• confront
• exeunt
• forefront
• lakefront

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