punched out; punching out; punches out
1
: to record the time of one's stopping work or departure by punching a time clock
2
: to bail out of an aircraft using an ejection seat
Synonyms
Verb
- bash
- baste
- bat
- batter
- beat
- belabor
- belt
- birch
- bludgeon
- buffet
- bung up
- club
- curry
- do
- drub
- fib [British]
- flog
- hammer
- hide
- lace
- lambaste
- lambast
- lash
- lather
- lick
- maul
- mess (up)
- paddle
- pelt
- pommel
- pound
- pummel
- rough (up)
- slate
- slog
- switch
- tan
- thrash
- thresh
- thump
- tromp
- wallop
- whale
- whip
- whop
- whap
- whup
- work over
Examples of punch-out in a Sentence
Verb
you should take a course in anger management—you can't go around punching out people
Recent Examples on the Web
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2023
Seven of Moquin’s punch-outs were on swing-and-miss pitches.
—Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023
Koepka’s Sunday afternoon tee shot, though, came to rest on a stretch of pine straw, forcing a punch-out onto the fairway.
—Alan Blinder Doug Mills, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023
Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2023
The hotel closed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its white all-caps signage has seen better days, with some letters fully punched out.
—Catherine Carlock, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2023
That was Pham, who punched out a career-high 11 across five scoreless innings of one-hit ball Friday.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2023
Use a drinking straw to punch out two holes in the top of each cookie.
—Lyda Jones Burnette, Country Living, 8 Sep. 2023
Tuesday’s Nationals starter was MacKenzie Gore, who came over in the Soto trade, boosted his fastball to 98 mph and even punched out Soto in the third inning.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
Bernardino, though, fanned Harrison Bader before handing the baton to righthander Chris Martin, who punched out Anthony Volpe and induced Ben Rortvedt to fly out to Yoshida in left to end the game.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2023
The final shift is scheduled to punch out Feb. 28, the 5 million-square-foot auto plant will go dark and Belvidere will face an uncertain future.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2023
Ornamental metal panels had been punched out to make room for air-conditioning units.
—Curbed, 9 June 2023
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Noun
And if that first goal showed off all the speed and skill that Smith possesses, the second one showed off her grit and determination, coming in stoppage time just before halftime, when Smith pushed back a punch-out from Vietnam’s heroic keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2023
Seven of Moquin’s punch-outs were on swing-and-miss pitches.
—Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023
Koepka’s Sunday afternoon tee shot, though, came to rest on a stretch of pine straw, forcing a punch-out onto the fairway.
—Alan Blinder Doug Mills, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023
Verb
Undeterred, Evans put his hat over his fist and punched out the remainder of the windshield and drove on, with nothing between him and the subzero temperatures of Britain’s coldest winter in 150 years.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2023
The hotel closed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its white all-caps signage has seen better days, with some letters fully punched out.
—Catherine Carlock, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2023
That was Pham, who punched out a career-high 11 across five scoreless innings of one-hit ball Friday.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2023
Use a drinking straw to punch out two holes in the top of each cookie.
—Lyda Jones Burnette, Country Living, 8 Sep. 2023
Tuesday’s Nationals starter was MacKenzie Gore, who came over in the Soto trade, boosted his fastball to 98 mph and even punched out Soto in the third inning.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
Bernardino, though, fanned Harrison Bader before handing the baton to righthander Chris Martin, who punched out Anthony Volpe and induced Ben Rortvedt to fly out to Yoshida in left to end the game.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2023
The final shift is scheduled to punch out Feb. 28, the 5 million-square-foot auto plant will go dark and Belvidere will face an uncertain future.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2023
Ornamental metal panels had been punched out to make room for air-conditioning units.
—Curbed, 9 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punch-out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1893, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near punch-out
Cite this Entry
“Punch-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punch-out. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
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