How to Use punch line in a Sentence

punch line

noun

• She didn't understand the punch line.
• How much longer will this state be the punch line to an old joke?
  — J.d. Crowe | [e-mail], al, 26 Feb. 2021
• Harris is the punch line and appears to be in on the joke.
  — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 23 July 2024
• The setup may have been well-worn, but the punch line was sublime.
  — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 13 May 2021
• Then Baffert fell silent and waited for the punch line to land.
  — Tim Layden, SI.com, 3 May 2018
• Her surname was revered by fans — but cut to a punch line by satirists.
  — New York Times, 28 June 2022
• In a way that’s too bad, because there is a snarky and timely punch line to the whole mess.
  — Gary Thompson, charlotteobserver, 12 Apr. 2018
• Under the care and feeding of Jim Dolan, the Knicks have been reduced to a punch line.
  — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, 26 June 2019
• In a way that’s too bad, because there is snarky and timely punch line to the whole mess.
  — Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 11 Apr. 2018
• If the worst happens, Webb could become a piece of junk in space, and a punch line on Earth.
  — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2021
• The punch line did not come close to the kind of satire Putin’s Russia needed and deserved.
  — Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
• The Witch is like one of those really long jokes with a deeply stupid punch line.
  — Vulture, 31 Mar. 2023
• The punch line to all of this is—this really isn’t a new product for Heinz.
  — Chris Morris, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2023
• By the punch line, five minutes later, the crowd of donors was putty in his hands.
  — Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2021
• The painting in question just seems to be crying out for a punch line.
  — Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2021
• In Face the Music, the transgressions of Bill’s and Ted’s boomer-era dads are not just played for laughs—they’re the punch line.
  — Devin Gordon, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2020
• Pedro had started to tell a joke, and Phan landed the punch line.
  — Megan Friedman, Country Living, 26 May 2017
• Rather than try to tease a punch line from the tragedy of war, the episode opened by making space for something more poignant.
  — Amanda Wicks, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2022
• In classic form, Forte overextended the gag far past the punch line.
  — Amanda Wicks, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2022
• Ryan Gosling's dog costar in his upcoming movie The Fall Guy is not just a punch line.
  — Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024
• The punch line remains the same, but its potency has changed.
  — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 2022
• He’s a Batman who can deliver — and be — the punch line.
  — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Feb. 2022
• Special teams coach Cam Achord cannot be in charge of that punch line of a unit anymore.
  — Chad Finn, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Jan. 2023
• In real life that’s Derek Simpson, and that has been his friends’ go-to punch line all year.
  — Emily Kaplan, SI.com, 24 Feb. 2015
• In its first decade of life, the website appeared in as many punch lines as headlines.
  — Richard Cooke, Wired, 17 Feb. 2020
• The fan base always feels like Atlanta is the punch line and that their teams don’t get enough respect.
  — Bob Brookover, Philly.com, 12 Jan. 2018
• But no one seems to ever remember the punch line, so wait for it.
  — Mike Edison, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2021
• How many Russians are ready to face such a punch line will become clear soon.
  — Vladislav Inozemtsev, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2011
• Harris’s campaign has tried to reclaim the punch lines.
  — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2024
• Not that long ago, public figures such as Carlson and Musk might have been embarrassed to be seen using political violence as a punch line.
  — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024

Last Updated: 17 Dec 2024