STUNT


Meaning of STUNT in English

I. ˈstənt, dial “ or -tu̇nt adjective

Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse stuttr short, scant — more at stint

1. chiefly dialect : stubborn , angry

2. chiefly dialect : stunted, undersized , curtailed, blunt

3. chiefly dialect : abrupt

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

transitive verb

: to hinder the normal growth, development, or progress of : dwarf , check

covered largely with stunted pine woods — American Guide Series: New Jersey

heifers will be stunted and ruined, as they will calve at 18 months — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)

physical and mental development became stunted during … childhood — Dorothy Gardner

superabundance of mechanical diversions stunted men's souls — Bruce Marshall

intransitive verb

archaic : to become arrested in growth or development

undernourished plants will stunt

III. noun

( -s )

Etymology: stunt (II)

1. : a check in growth

2. : a plant or animal that has been checked in growth ; especially : a dwarfed plant

3. : a disease of plants in which reduction in size is a marked symptom: as

a. : a virus disease of chrysanthemum characterized by smaller plants and leaves, smaller and often much earlier flowers, and bleaching of flower color especially of the red and bronze varieties

b. : a similar virus disease of dahlia

c. : a disease of lettuce caused by a fungus of the genus Pythium

IV. verb

Etymology: probably alteration of stump (III)

Scotland : stamp

V. noun

( -s )

Etymology: probably alteration of stump (IV)

1.

a. : a feat or performance displaying notable strength or skill : trick

a moored float with diving board and tower permits aquatic stunts — American Guide Series: Maine

standing with one foot on the seat, sitting on the handlebars, and similar stunts — W.L.Gresham

one of his stunts … was to fly between two trees where the opening was narrower than his wingspread — American Guide Series: California

b. : a book or work marked chiefly by the display or exercise of skill or ingenuity : tour de force

in a way this book is a stunt , for the portraits are actually medallion heads — New Yorker

the kind of literary stunt one remembers much more respectfully from a youthful reading than from a mature rereading — John Mason Brown

too trickily written … too discontinuous in its drama to be more than a serious stunt — Time

2. : an unusual feat or act performed or undertaken chiefly to gain attention or publicity

in a money-raising stunt for the sports fund, he was fined a penny for every inch of waistline — Keith Ellis

won the trip in a radio program advertising stunt — W.H.Davenport

looked upon filibustering as a political stunt — Lindsay Rogers

VI. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to perform stunts

stunted without nets or any safety devices — Saul Bellow

lugged a unicycle up the trail and stunted on the summit — Andrew Hamilton & Chandler Harris

b. : to do stunts with an airplane

its pilot was stunting and … took a nose dive — Jean Stafford

2. : to do unusual or startling things to attract attention or gain publicity

sentimentalists, political agitators … and stunting newspapers — A.A.Calwell

transitive verb

: to do stunts with (an airplane)

VII. noun

: a shifting or switching of positions by defensive players at the line of scrimmage in football to disrupt the opponent's blocking

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.