What does "puck" mean?
A mischievous or hostile spirit.
Puck
/pʌk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A mischievous or hostile spirit.
- Grammar: puck is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bad boy, bad fairy, bad peri, booger.
- Useful contrasts: ball, bandies, human.
- Usage evidence: The puck of ice hockey is not spherical.
How to use "puck"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "puck" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "puck" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "puck" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "puck" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "puck" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bad boy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "puck", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A mischievous or hostile spirit. archaic
"William Tyndale allotted this character a role, of leading nocturnal travellers astray as the puck had been said to do since Anglo-Saxon times and the goblin since the later medieval period."
- 2 A hard rubber disc; any other flat disc meant to be hit across a flat surface in a game.
"In hockey a flat piece of rubber, say four inches long by three wide and about an inch thick, called a ‘puck’, is used."
- 3 billy goat Ireland
- 4 A body position between the pike and tuck positions, with knees slightly bent and folded in; open tuck.
"The puck position is allowed during competitions when performing multi-twisting multiple somersaults."
- 5 a vulcanized rubber disk 3 inches in diameter that is used instead of a ball in ice hockey wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The mischievous fairy-like creature from English folklore, like Puck from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
- 7 An object shaped like a puck. Canada
"He reaches into the urinal and picks up the puck. He then walk over to the sink and replaces a bar of soap with the urinal puck."
- 8 a mischievous sprite of English folklore wordnet
- 9 A pointing device with a crosshair.
- 10 A penalty shot.
Verb
- 1 To hit, strike. Ireland
Proper Noun
- 1 A mischievous sprite in Celtic mythology and English folklore.
- 2 One of the satellites of the planet Uranus.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The puck of ice hockey is not spherical."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "puck"?
Common synonyms include: bad boy, bad fairy, bad peri, booger, brat, buffoon.
How do you use "puck" in a sentence?
The puck of ice hockey is not spherical.
How do you pronounce "puck"?
Pronounced /pʌk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūkō, from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Norse púki (“devil”) (dialectal Swedish puke). Doublet of pooka.
Etymology 2
From or influenced by Irish poc (“stroke in hurling, bag”). Compare poke (1861).
Etymology 3
From the Irish poc (“male adult goat, billy goat”). Doublet of buck.
Etymology 4
Blend of pike + tuck.
Etymology 5
From puck (“mischievous spirit”), from Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pāug(')- (“brilliance, spectre”). Cognate with Icelandic púki, dialectal Swedish puke (“devil”), Middle Low German spūk (“apparition, ghost”), German Spuk (“a haunting”). More at spook.