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
David Szalay, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Of the new cast additions, only Ayoade is doing anything funny, but Xeni’s pretentious banter could have used a writerly punch-up from somebody like Richard Ayoade.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Audrey Snyder, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024
Because of that movement, there's not enough time for lava to accumulate sufficiently to punch up above sea level.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up 
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Noun
Toward the end there’s a punch-up, with several players involved.
—David Szalay, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Of the new cast additions, only Ayoade is doing anything funny, but Xeni’s pretentious banter could have used a writerly punch-up from somebody like Richard Ayoade.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
Penn State has a chance to prove this team can punch up and hang with the best team in the country.
—Audrey Snyder, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024
Because of that movement, there's not enough time for lava to accumulate sufficiently to punch up above sea level.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up
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 15 Dec. 2024.
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