Word forms: plural, plural, 3rd person singular presenttense puns, present participle punning, past tense, past participle punned
1. countable noun
A pun is a clever and amusing use of a word or phrase with two meanings, or of words with the same sound but differentmeanings. For example, if someone says 'The peasants are revolting', this is a pun because it can be interpreted as meaning either that the peasants are fighting against authority, or that they are disgusting.
Synonyms: play on words, quip, double entendre, witticism More Synonyms of pun
2. verb
If you pun, you try to amuse people by making a pun.
He is constantly punning, constantly playing with language. [VERB]
punninguncountable noun
...his son's incorrigible punning.
pun in British English1
(pʌn)
noun
1.
the use of words or phrases to exploit ambiguities and innuendoes in their meaning, usually for humorous effect; a play on words. An example is: "Ben Battle was a soldier bold, And used to war's alarms: But a cannonball took off his legs, So he laid down his arms." (Thomas Hood)
verbWord forms: puns, punning or punned
2. (intransitive)
to make puns
Word origin
C17: possibly from Italian puntiglio point of detail, wordplay; see punctilio
pun in British English2
(pʌn)
verbWord forms: puns, punning or punned
(transitive) British
to pack (earth, rubble, etc) by pounding
Derived forms
punner (ˈpunner)
noun
Word origin
C16: dialectal variant of pound1
pun in American English
(pʌn)
noun
1.
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
verb intransitiveWord forms: punned or ˈpunning
2.
to make a pun or puns
Word origin
17th-c. clipped form < ? It puntiglio, fine point, hence verbal quibble: see punctilio
Examples of 'pun' in a sentence
pun
Now your feline companion has more than terrible puns to look forward to.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I'm doggedly refusing to make puns about the restaurant name.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Any more would have been too much silliness and bad puns.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Still, he thinks the terrible puns served a purpose.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You have an experience in a larger frame, pun intended.
Christianity Today (2000)
He loved to make puns, frequently bilingual ones.
Bee, Helen The Developing Child (7th edn.) (1995)
Use puns'You have two seconds to engage people.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Forgive the pun, but it has become priceless.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
That is an example of enlightened management, if you will excuse the pun.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They made a meal of it, no pun intended.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Can you make puns about them on expensive T-shirts?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But it also puns between two reciprocal ideas central to Marxist aesthetics.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
It came from a woman caught between a rock and a hard place, excuse the pun.
The Sun (2013)
Sorry, puns are a bad habit.
The Sun (2015)
Excuse the pun, but think outside the box.
The Sun (2012)
Here is a writer who makes the English language blush at its own vulnerability to pun and play.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Forgive the pun, but a lot of rubbish has been said in the past few weeks about food industry waste.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Excuse the pun, but this could make the biggest splash not only of his career but of any public figure coming out.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Oh dear, terrible pun; but then this town is known for jollity.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Which seems - forgive the pun - a bit spooky.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Really, there was no pun intended ) looking very happy.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But the figures are ( forgive the pun) striking.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Cloud computing is a nebulous concept, if you will forgive the pun, covering a range of ideas.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Quotations
A man who could make so vile a pun would not scruple to pick a pocketJohn Dennis
In other languages
pun
British English: pun NOUN
A pun is a clever and amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings.
This may be a pun on the manager's name.
American English: pun
Brazilian Portuguese: trocadilho
Chinese: 双关语
European Spanish: juego de palabras
French: calembour
German: Wortspiel
Italian: gioco di parole
Japanese: ごろ合わせ
Korean: > 말장난동음이의어를 이용한
European Portuguese: trocadilho
Latin American Spanish: juego de palabras
Chinese translation of 'pun'
pun
(pʌn)
n(c)
双(雙)关(關) (shuāngguān)
(noun)
Definition
the use of words to exploit double meanings for humorous effect, for example my dog's a champion boxer
The title of the book is a pun on his name.
Synonyms
play on words
quip
a deadpan quip
double entendre
He is a master of the double entendre.
witticism
This witticism produced a burst of raucous laughter.
paronomasia (rhetoric)
equivoque
Quotation
A man who could make so vile a pun would not scruple to pick a pocket [John Dennis]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of double entendre
Definition
a word or phrase with two interpretations, esp. with one meaning that is rude
He is a master of the double entendre.
Synonyms
double meaning,
ambiguity,
pun,
innuendo,
play on words
in the sense of quip
Definition
a witty saying
a deadpan quip
Synonyms
joke,
sally,
jest,
riposte,
wisecrack (informal),
retort,
counter,
pleasantry,
repartee,
gibe,
witticism,
bon mot,
badinage
in the sense of witticism
Definition
a witty remark
This witticism produced a burst of raucous laughter.