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bunt 1 (bŭnt)
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v. bunt·ed, bunt·ing, bunts
v.tr.
1. Baseball
a. To bat (a pitched ball) by tapping it lightly so that the ball rolls slowly in front of the infielders.
b. To cause (a base runner) to advance or (a run) to score by bunting.
2. To push or strike with or as if with the head; butt.
v.intr.
1. Baseball To bunt a pitched ball: The batter squared away to bunt.
2. To butt.
n.
1. Baseball
a. The act of bunting.
b. A bunted ball.
2. A butt with or as if with the head.
[Dialectal, to push, strike.]
bunter n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
bunt 2 (bŭnt)
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n.
1. The middle portion of a sail, especially a square one, that is shaped like a pouch to increase the effect of the wind.
2. The pouchlike midsection of a fishing net in which the catch is concentrated.
[Perhaps from Swedish bunt or Danish bundt, both of Low German origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
bunt 3 (bŭnt)
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n.
A smut disease of wheat and other cereal grasses, caused by fungi of the genus Tilletia and resulting in grains filled with foul-smelling, sooty black spores. Also called stinking smut.
[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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