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🏈 A kicked ball 🏈 To kick in air 🎲 To bet 🛶 A flat boat 🛶 To push a boat 💶 Old Irish money
to punt

to punt

1 7.9
To move a flat bottom boat by pushing a long pole against the riverbed
  • verb
  • /pʌnt/
  • UK
translation icon : impulsar la barca con una pértiga
  • The canoes glide slowly and noiselessly, punted by men especially good at this task and always used for it.
  • men punting

Examples

  • We decided to punt along the river, using a long pole to navigate through the shallow waters.

  • She was in a small boat, and there was the figure of a man above her, punting silently.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Flowers lined the gravel path, and the river ran narrow and slow to my left along the water walks until it opened out into the wide water where Evelyn taught me to punt.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The water was everywhere and rivers now stretched out to the horizon, and men paddled and punted all over them in eerie silence.

  • Every Sunday, tourists flock to the city to punt on the beautiful river in traditional boats.

  • The guide showed us how to punt effectively, pushing the pole against the riverbed to move forward.

Synonyms

to pull
vsto punt
123 5.0

To move a boat by using oars

pushes against the riverbed with a pole rather than operating oars
to row
vsto punt
62 1.0

To move a boat using oars

pushes from the shallow bottom instead of pulling with oars
to paddle
vsto punt
57 1.4

To move a boat through water using a short oar

pushes against riverbed with a pole instead of stroking in water
to pole
vsto punt
3 6.3

To move or stir something with a long stick

pushes a flat boat off the riverbed with a long rod
to scull
vsto punt
  • Specialized
1 7.7

To move a small boat using one or two oars you hold and move side to side

pushes off bottom with a pole, not by moving oars side to side
to oar
vsto punt
1.4

To move a boat by using long poles with flat ends

pushes off the riverbed rather than propelling through the water

Phrasal Verbs

to punt on
  • Informal
1 8.2

Delay deciding about something to avoid commitment

to have to punt
  • Informal
1 9.2

To delay deciding for now because it is difficult or unclear

to punt the project
  • Informal
8.8

Delay a project to work on more important tasks

Compounds

Irish punt
  • Literature
8.7

A unit of money used in Ireland before the euro

How Effortful

to row
62 1.0
to punt
  • UK
1 7.9
to motor
7 4.0

Surface Forms

punt infinitive
punted past
punted past participle
punting present participle
punts third person singular

Etymology

Punt (verb, to propel a boat) comes from the boat name and simply means to move that flat boat by pushing with a long pole. So to punt is to use a pole to push a shallow river boat along the water.