punt 1
— punter , n.
/punt/ , n.
1. Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground. Cf. drop kick, place kick .
2. a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.
v.t.
3. Football. to kick (a dropped ball) before it touches the ground.
4. to propel (a small boat) by thrusting against the bottom of a lake or stream, esp. with a pole.
5. to convey in or as if in a punt.
v.i.
6. to punt a football.
7. to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake.
8. to travel or have an outing in a punt.
9. Informal. to equivocate or delay: If they ask you for exact sales figures, you'll have to punt.
[ bef. 1000; 1835-45 for def. 1; OE: flat-bottomed boat (not attested in ME) ponto punt, PONTOON 1 ; sense "to kick a dropped ball" perh. via sense "to propel (a boat) by shoving" ]
punt 2
— punter , n.
/punt/ , v.i.
1. Cards. to lay a stake against the bank, as at faro.
2. Slang. to gamble, esp. to bet on horse races or other sporting events.
n.
3. Cards. a person who lays a stake against the bank.
[ 1705-15; ponter, deriv. of ponte punter, point in faro punto POINT ]
punt 3
/poont, punt/ , n.
a monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland, equal to 100 pence; Irish pound.
[ 1970-75; 2 ]