put-put

or putt-putt

[ puht-puht, -puht ]
/ ˈpʌtˈpʌt, -ˌpʌt /

noun

the sound made by a small internal-combustion engine or imitative of its operation.
Informal. a small internal-combustion engine, or something, as a boat or model airplane, equipped with one: the sound of distant put-puts on the lake.

verb (used without object), put-put·ted, put-put·ting.

Informal. to operate with sounds suggesting a put-put, as a small motor or motor-driven device.

Origin of put-put

First recorded in 1900–05; imitative

Example sentences from the Web for put-put

British Dictionary definitions for put-put

put-put
/ (ˈpʌtˌpʌt) informal /

noun

a light chugging or popping sound, as made by a petrol engine
a vehicle powered by an engine making such a sound

verb -puts, -putting or -putted

(intr) to make or travel along with such a sound