bunt

1
[ buhnt ]
/ bʌnt /

verb (used with object)

(of a goat or calf) to push with the horns or head; butt.
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.

verb (used without object)

to push (something) with the horns or head.
Baseball. to bunt a ball.

noun

a push with the head or horns; butt.
Baseball.
  1. the act of bunting.
  2. a bunted ball.

Origin of bunt

1
1760–70; orig. British dial. (Central and S England): push, strike; of obscure origin

OTHER WORDS FROM bunt

bunt·er, noun

Definition for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt 2
[ buhnt ]
/ bʌnt /

noun

Nautical. the middle part of a square sail.
the bagging part of a fishing net or bagging middle area of various cloth objects.

Origin of bunt

2
First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain

Definition for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt 3
[ buhnt ]
/ bʌnt /

noun Plant Pathology.

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.

Origin of bunt

3
First recorded in 1595–1605; earlier, puffball; of uncertain origin

OTHER WORDS FROM bunt

bunt·ed, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for bunt

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (1 of 3)

bunt 1
/ (bʌnt) /

verb

(of an animal) to butt (something) with the head or horns
to cause (an aircraft) to fly in part of an inverted loop or (of an aircraft) to fly in such a loop
US and Canadian (in baseball) to hit (a pitched ball) very gently

noun

the act or an instance of bunting

Word Origin for bunt

C19: perhaps nasalized variant of butt ³

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (2 of 3)

bunt 2
/ (bʌnt) /

noun

nautical the baggy centre of a fishing net or other piece of fabric, such as a square sail

Word Origin for bunt

C16: perhaps from Middle Low German bunt bundle

British Dictionary definitions for bunt (3 of 3)

bunt 3
/ (bʌnt) /

noun

a disease of cereal plants caused by smut fungi (genus Tilletia)

Word Origin for bunt

C17: of unknown origin