What does "stunt" mean?
A daring or dangerous feat, often involving the display of gymnastic skills.
Stunt
/stʌnt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A daring or dangerous feat, often involving the display of gymnastic skills.
- Grammar: stunt is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, abridge, abstract, accomplished fact.
- Useful contrasts: educational influence, green plant growth, mature culture.
- Usage evidence: That's just a cheap publicity stunt.
How to use "stunt"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stunt" 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 "stunt" 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 "stunt" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stunt" 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 "stunt" is acting as noun, verb, slang 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 "abbreviate" 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 "stunt", 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 daring or dangerous feat, often involving the display of gymnastic skills.
"He found ways to devise, stage, and film stunts that are like nothing anyone’s ever accomplished. He recorded stunning image after stunning image; practically every frame of Fury Road could be a painting."
- 2 A check in growth. countable, uncountable
- 3 a difficult or unusual or dangerous feat; usually done to gain attention wordnet
- 4 An act or activity viewed as the outcome of a plan or scheme, often malicious or nefarious.
- 5 That which has been checked in growth; a stunted animal or thing. countable
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from attaining full growth wordnet
- 7 Ellipsis of publicity stunt. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 8 A two-year-old whale, which, having been weaned, is lean and yields little blubber. countable
- 9 A skill. archaic
""See if you can hit the barrel, Joe," urged George Bland. "A lot of us have missed it, including Peaches, who seems to think his particular stunt is high throwing.""
- 10 A special means of rushing the quarterback done to confuse the opposing team's offensive line.
Verb
- 1 To perform a stunt. intransitive
- 2 To check or hinder the growth or development of. transitive
"Some have said smoking stunts your growth."
- 3 perform a stunt or stunts wordnet
- 4 To show off; to posture; to flaunt valuables. intransitive, slang
"Call me the juice and you know I'm a stunt."
- 5 to look good wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 check the growth or development of wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"That's just a cheap publicity stunt."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stunt"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, abridge, abstract, accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement.
How do you use "stunt" in a sentence?
That's just a cheap publicity stunt.
How do you pronounce "stunt"?
Pronounced /stʌnt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).
Etymology 2
From dialectal stunt (“stubborn, dwarfed”), from Middle English stont, stunt (“short, brief”), from Old English stunt (“stupid, foolish, simple”), from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz (“short, compact, stupid, dull”). Cognate with Middle High German stunz (“short”), Old Norse stuttr (“short in stature, dwarfed”). Related to Old English styntan (“to make dull, stupefy, become dull, repress”). More at stint.