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Synonyms

bunting

1 American  
[buhn-ting] / ˈbʌn tɪŋ /

noun

  1. a coarse, open fabric of worsted or cotton for flags, signals, etc.

  2. patriotic and festive decorations made from such cloth, or from paper, usually in the form of draperies, wide streamers, etc., in the colors of the national flag.

  3. flags, especially a vessel's flags, collectively.

bunting 2 American  
[buhn-ting] / ˈbʌn tɪŋ /

noun

  1. any of several small, chiefly seed-eating birds of the genera Emberiza, Passerina, and Plectrophenax.

bunting 3 American  
[buhn-ting] / ˈbʌn tɪŋ /

noun

  1. a hooded sleeping garment for infants.

bunting 1 British  
/ ˈbʌntɪŋ /

noun

  1. a coarse, loosely woven cotton fabric used for flags, etc

  2. decorative flags, pennants, and streamers

  3. flags collectively, esp those of a boat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Bunting 2 British  
/ ˈbʌntɪŋ /

noun

  1. Basil . 1900–85, British poet, author of Briggflatts (1966)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bunting 3 British  
/ ˈbʌntɪŋ /

noun

  1. any of numerous seed-eating songbirds of the families Fringillidae (finches, etc) or Emberizidae , esp those of the genera Emberiza of the Old World and Passerina of North America. They all have short stout bills

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bunting1

First recorded in 1735–45; origin uncertain; perhaps originally “cloth for sifting,” hence the verb bunt “to sift,” from Middle English bonten + -ing 1

Origin of bunting2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bunting, bounting, buntyle; further origin unknown

Origin of bunting3

First recorded in 1920–25; special use of bunting 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It shows a harbour littered with lobster boxes and boats bobbing in the water, as well as colourful bunting along the dark streets of St Amelia.

From BBC

Now, this sprawling metropolis set against the stunning, snowy Mount Damavand is decked out in flags and bunting to mark what's known as the "ten days of dawn".

From BBC

Santa Margarita’s Brody Schumaker, who had eight bunt singles last season, will be asked by his father, Skip, the new manager of the Texas Rangers, to show off his bunting skills at spring training.

From Los Angeles Times

In Dalian earlier this year, the police arrested 13 suspects, and seized more than 12,000 yellow-breasted buntings, a wild bird with the highest protection level in China.

From BBC

Nile, though, is unencumbered by empathy, guilt, or the urge for compromise, a mile-long bunting of red flags spooled into one cashmere-clad creep.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.