punting

Verb (1)

punt (third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted)

1. To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.
2. Of a fish, to walk along the seafloor using its fins as limbs.

Verb (2)

punt (third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted)

1. To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.
   • At the dump he emptied the station wagon quickly and only once punted a bag of refuse, exploding it like a pinata at a Mexican Christmas.1975, Barry Targan, Harry Belten and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, page 133
   1. (intransitive, transitive, Australian rules football, Gaelic football) To kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground. (This puts the ball farther from the goal across which the opposing team is attempting to score, so improves the chances of the team punting.)
   2. To kick a bouncing ball far and high.
      • With five minutes remaining Hennessey was down well to block another Vukcevic shot, while Gunter was smartly in to punt away the dangerous loose ball.2011 September 2, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC
2. (colloquial, intransitive, transitive) To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).
   • The briefer reported it had been terminated on orders from Secretary Schlesinger, but attributed this to a sense Shamrock produced little, not to the fact it had been discovered. The NSA briefer punted on whether Fort Meade had been reading Americans' private messages, ...2014, John Prados, The Family Jewels: The CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power, University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 91

See all 24 meanings of punt