Bunt and Bundt are two words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the definitions of the words bunt and Bundt, where these two words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
The word bunt may mean to push something or someone. Most often, the word bunt is a term used in the sport of baseball to mean to gently tap a pitched ball in order to make it difficult to make a play. Usually, a batter will bunt a ball so that the pitcher will retrieve the ball and toss it to first base in order to make the out, while other base runners advance. This is known as a sacrifice hit or a sacrifice bunt. Bunt is sometimes used in a figurative sense, meaning to switch things up when something isn’t going well. Bunt may be used as a noun or a verb, related words are bunts, bunted, bunting. The word bunt may be derived from the Middle English word bounten which means to leap back, or it may be related to the word butt.
Bundt is an adjective that describes a cake that is baked in the shape of a ring, usually with fluted sides. Bundt may also refer to the pan that such a cake is baked in. The word Bundt is derived from the German word Bund, which means turban. Note that according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Bundt should be capitalized, though it is also found rendered with a lowercase b.
Examples
His bunt traveled 10 feet just to the right of the pitching mound and was fielded by Palmer reliever Matthew New, who immediately fired to first base where no one was covering. (The Pueblo )
The store sells nine cake flavors and one seasonal flavor on rotation, and bundt cakes are offered in four sizes. (The Northwest Herald)