punt
Preserved but no longer current.
To gamble; PUNTING-SHOP, a gambling-house. Common in ancient writers, but now disused. The word seems confined to playing for "chicken stakes." PUNT means now in the sporting world to back horses for small stakes.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “punt” mean?
To gamble; PUNTING-SHOP, a gambling-house. Common in ancient writers, but now disused. The word seems confined to playing for "chicken stakes." PUNT means now in the sporting world to back horses for small stakes.
Is “punt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.