punched up; punching up; punches up
: to give energy or forcefulness to
jokes added to punch up a speech
Examples of punch-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2024
What was supposed to be a quick punch-up gig for a two-week Encores!
—Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2024
Jeff Cox, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
From there, punch up the neutral outfit by way of a Fair Isle knit, such as this cozy cardigan from Faherty.
—Kelsey Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up 
Noun
Reynolds apparently did punch-up on a balcony scene in the movie (though some counter those lines are also in 2016 Hoover novel).
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2024
What was supposed to be a quick punch-up gig for a two-week Encores!
—Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2024
Verb
In the final revision for second-quarter growth, the Commerce Department also punched up the level of gross domestic income gain to 3.4%, an adjustment of 2.1 percentage points from the previous estimate and closer in line with GDP.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
From there, punch up the neutral outfit by way of a Fair Isle knit, such as this cozy cardigan from Faherty.
—Kelsey Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punch-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near punch-up
Cite this Entry
“Punch-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punch-up. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
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