corporal punishment

noun

: punishment that involves hitting someone : physical punishment

The school banned corporal punishment many years ago.

Examples of corporal punishment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At its center is Lakshmi (Aishwarya Dinesh), a mother who wants independence through starting a small business but is repeatedly blocked by family dynamics, while her young son Akaash (Siddharth Swaroop) endures corporal punishment at school. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025

There is also concern about disabled children and children of color being the most targeted by corporal punishment. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025

He was deported in 2015, after serving a six-year state prison term for convictions of inflicting corporal punishment, child cruelty, willful discharge of a firearm in a negligent manner and being a felon in possession of a firearm. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025

According to a 2019 statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, corporal punishment should not be used as a method to discipline children. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 30 July 2025

Legal Definition

corporal punishment

noun

cor·​po·​ral punishment

ˈkȯr-pə-rəl-

: punishment inflicted on a person's body see also cruel and unusual punishment

Note: The prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution imposes limits on the use of corporal punishment on convicted offenders and prisoners. The U.S. Supreme Court has found the Eighth Amendment to be inapplicable to the use of corporal punishment on schoolchildren.