punched up; punching up; punches up
: to give energy or forcefulness to
jokes added to punch up a speech
Examples of punch-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
Toward the end there’s a punch-up, with several players involved.
—David Szalay, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 30 June 2025
The Nuggets played the underdog card as if Michael Malone, a terrier of a man who loved punching up, had never left.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for punch-up
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Noun
Often, when shows do crossovers, the writers on one will do punch-up for their characters on the other.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
Toward the end there’s a punch-up, with several players involved.
—David Szalay, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Verb
So many of my current favorite shoe trends—including boat shoes and flat, strappy sandals—are in the mix and ready to punch up your next outfit.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 30 June 2025
The Nuggets played the underdog card as if Michael Malone, a terrier of a man who loved punching up, had never left.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for punch-up
Cite this Entry
“Punch-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punch-up. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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