pun

Use pun in a sentence

To say this calendars days are numbered is a pun.

noun

The definition of a pun is a joke making a play on words.

An example of pun is saying that your calendar days are numbered.

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"pun." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun>.

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pun

the use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike, in such a way as to juxtapose, connect, or bring out two or more of the possible applications of the word or words, usually in a humorous way; a play on words

Origin of pun

17th-c. clipped form from uncertain or unknown; perhaps Italian puntiglio, fine point, hence verbal quibble: see punctilio

intransitive verb

punned, pun′ning

to make a pun or puns

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"pun." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun>.

APA Style

pun. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun

pun

noun

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

intransitive verb

punned, pun·ning, puns

To make puns or a pun.

Origin of pun

Origin unknown

Related Forms:

pun′ning·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"pun." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun>.

APA Style

pun. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun

Verb

(third-person singular simple present puns, present participle punning, simple past and past participle punned)

To beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.

Origin

From Middle English *punen, from Old English punian, pÅ«nian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush, grind"), from Proto-Germanic *punÅnÄ… (“to break to pieces, pulverise"). More at pound.

Noun

(plural puns)

A joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused.

Usage notes

Because some puns are based on pronunciation, puns are more obvious when spoken aloud. For example: “This rock is gneiss, but don't take it for granite." This reads (with a US accent) similarly to “This rock is nice, but don't take it for granted." (Both “gneiss" and “granite" are types of rock.)

Verb

(third-person singular simple present puns, present participle punning, simple past and past participle punned)

To make or tell a pun; make a play on words.
We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.

Origin

From a special use of Etymology 1 pun (“to beat, bend (words)").

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Cite this page

MLA Style

"pun." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun>.

APA Style

pun. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Pun

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