put-put

UK: /ˈpʌtˌpʌt/ US: (put′put′, -put′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

put-put  (put′put′, -put′), n., v., -put•ted, -put•ting. 
n. 

1. the sound made by a small internal-combustion engine or imitative of its operation.
2. Informal Terms a small internal-combustion engine, or something, as a boat or model airplane, equipped with one:
   the sound of distant put-puts on the lake.

v.i. 

3. Informal Terms to operate with sounds suggesting a put-put, as a small motor or motor-driven device.

Also, putt-putt. 

• imitative 1900–05

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

put-put / ˈpʌtˌpʌt/ noun

1. a light chugging or popping sound, as made by a petrol engine

verb ( -puts, -putting, -putted)

1. (intransitive) to make or travel along with such a sound