1
as in to slap
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
after the man had punched the bartender for eighty-sixing him, bouncers stepped in and restrained him until the police could arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to drill
to make a hole or series of holes in
punch a ticket
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in impact
the quality of an utterance that provokes interest and produces an effect
the real punch of the speech came in its closing lines
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in vigor
active strength of body or mind
we're going to need a candidate with real punch if voters are ever going to get excited about this election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the poor palooka wasn't able to land a single punch on his opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in puncture
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
old computers used to get information by reading the punches on a series of cards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of punch
Diane J. Cho, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Simon Lunsford, Tre Gutierrez Co. proved to be too much as the Rams (18-9) punched a ticket to their first title game trip in 31 years.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2025
Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025
Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punch
Verb
The posts, which were captured by television writer Reality Steve, alleged that Johnson had punched a visible hole through her wall.
—Diane J. Cho, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Simon Lunsford, Tre Gutierrez Co. proved to be too much as the Rams (18-9) punched a ticket to their first title game trip in 31 years.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Hopefully, the [eventual] gut punch will be even greater that way.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025
Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch
Verb
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But that all changed in December, when Trump first threatened to slap heavy tariffs on his northern neighbor.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
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The short answer: President Trump and his insistence on slapping tariffs on key trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China.—
Russ Wiles,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The observations draw sharp contrast to previous studies of ecology below the ice, which either dropped cameras down through holes drilled in the ice or took place years after an iceberg calved.—
Ashley Balzer Vigil,
Scientific American,
21 Mar. 2025
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The department is also drilling and grouting to stabilize eastbound I-80.—
Saleen Martin,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Ultimately, the league’s decision-making on NBA expansion will be driven by a combination of market size, media presence, economic factors, and ownership interest.—
Giovanni Malloy,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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It's being driven by seniors and high-income consumers—and that poses a bigger problem for U.S. brands.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Jordan Hicks pitched an efficient five-plus innings, Tyler Fitzgerald smacked a two-run homer and scored a run, and the Giants beat the Tigers, 4-3.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2025
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In actuality, everything — unbeknownst to him — was ridiculously staged in a pitch-perfect reality TV parody, as comedy improv actors like David Hornsby and pre-Saturday Night Live Kristen Wiig would put Gould smack dab in the middle of absurd situation after absurd situation.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That, for me, is the only piercing message of this whole thing.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2025
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That list was winnowed in December to three corridors, including what is known as the Southwestern Grid Connector — which would run up the eastern edge of New Mexico, scrape the western edge of the Oklahoma panhandle and pierce the southeast corner of Colorado.—
John Aguilar,
The Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Hardman, who played collegiately at Georgia, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
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Lionsgate Canada and Piller/Segan are making it for Corus Entertainment network Global, reuniting the trio four year after the end of Private Eyes, which ran from 2016-2021.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Joshua Hur hit a home run, Trey Ebel had a two-run double and Ethan Bingaman contributed an RBI triple.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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Ukraine, Russia exchange deadly drone attacks amid ceasefire maneuvering Ukrainian drones have hit targets more than 700 miles inside Russia, have regularly forced the temporary closures of major Russian airports and have bombarded the power centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Mary Fowler momentarily looks down and holds up a very neat yellow square of knitting to the camera, two wooden needles poking out either side.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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During the incident, Konig also allegedly attempted to poke the woman with two syringes, Hawaii News Now reported, citing law enforcement sources.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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