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

The center would train professionals how to properly investigate child abuse and teach parents ways to parent that don’t involve corporal punishment. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2025

The regulations’ unanimous passage in 2022 followed a New York Times investigation detailing widespread educational failures — including young boys who graduated unable to speak English fluently or do basic arithmetic — and allegations of corporal punishment in some of the schools. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 18 June 2025

Things took a dark turn next, however, with Hawk getting arrested in Southern California in late summer 2020 on domestic violence allegations of inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant in Santa Ana. —Christie D’zurilla, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2025

Thailand bans the corporal punishment of children The Southeast Asian nation became the 68th country to prohibit the use of physical or psychological violence in any setting. —Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 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.