What does puck mean?
Puck has two well-established meanings. In modern sport, it is the flat, round disk used in ice hockey, normally propelled across the ice with a stick. This is the word’s dominant contemporary meaning, especially in North America, although the game and the term are also used in Britain and elsewhere. In older literary and folklore usage, a puck is a small, mischievous supernatural being, such as a sprite, goblin, or fairy. The second sense gives rise to the familiar adjective “puckish,” meaning playful, mischievous, or impish. Puck can also refer affectionately or humorously to a lively, naughty child. The word is especially memorable because it links the physical movement of hockey with the traditional notion of a puck as a quick, elusive trickster who delights in causing confusion and amusement.
A flat, round disk used in ice hockey and struck with a stick.
"The puck slid beneath the goalkeeper and crossed the goal line."
The plural is pucks. This is the common modern meaning of the word.
A mischievous or playful sprite, goblin, fairy, or similar creature in folklore and literature.
"The puck darted through the forest, playing tricks on anyone who followed."
This sense is chiefly literary, historical, or used humorously for a mischievous child.
The standard plural of the sporting noun is pucks.
"Three pucks lay scattered across the ice."
From a hockey disk to Shakespeare’s mischievous sprite, puck is a word with both sporting and supernatural lives.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does puck come from?
The modern sporting word puck is attested from the 19th century in relation to hockey, but its precise origin is uncertain. The older noun for a mischievous sprite appears in Middle English and may ultimately derive from Old Norse púkr, a term associated with a goblin or demon. The modern spelling developed through later English usage. The word also belongs to a wider family that includes the adjective puckish and the archaic noun puk.
Related word forms
How puck is actually used
The sporting sense is standard in British and American English. The folklore sense is now mainly literary or historical, though it remains familiar through the character Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Puck” is sometimes used informally to refer to a lively, mischievous child.
Easily confused with puck
Puck is the hockey disk or a folklore sprite, whereas puk is an informal expression of disgust or anger.