bunt 1
— bunter , n.
/bunt/ , v.t.
1. (of a goat or calf) to push with the horns or head; butt.
2. Baseball. to bat (a pitched ball) very gently so that it rolls into the infield close to home plate, usually by holding the bat loosely in hands spread apart and allowing the ball to bounce off it.
v.i.
3. to push (something) with the horns or head.
4. Baseball. to bunt a ball.
n.
5. a push with the head or horns; butt.
6. Baseball.
a. the act of bunting.
b. a bunted ball.
[ 1760-70; orig. Brit. dial. (Central and S England): push, strike; of obscure orig. ]
bunt 2
/bunt/ , n.
1. Naut. the middle part of a square sail.
2. the bagging part of a fishing net or bagging middle area of various cloth objects.
[ 1575-85; orig. uncert. ]
bunt 3
— bunted , adj.
/bunt/ , n. Plant Pathol.
a smut disease of wheat in which the kernels are replaced by the black, foul-smelling spores of fungi of the genus Tilletia. Also called stinking smut .
[ 1595-1605; earlier, puffball; of uncert. orig. ]