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
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026
But comics depend on feedback – punch-ups from fellow comedians and reactions from audiences – iterating jokes in the same way lean startups may innovate new products.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2025
Alison Syrett Cleary, InStyle, 18 Jan. 2026
But given the scoring punch up front, the high-end talent on the back end, three goalies who could make Canada’s A-Team, and just enough defensive-minded players to lean on in a close game — not to mention all that youthful energy and excitement— this group wouldn’t be an easy out for anyone.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punch-up
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Noun
The vibe and verve are like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World meets Repo Man, but the material needed an extra punch-up at script stage.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026
But comics depend on feedback – punch-ups from fellow comedians and reactions from audiences – iterating jokes in the same way lean startups may innovate new products.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
Heels will punch up the extremes of these opposing silhouettes in a nice way, too.
—Alison Syrett Cleary, InStyle, 18 Jan. 2026
But given the scoring punch up front, the high-end talent on the back end, three goalies who could make Canada’s A-Team, and just enough defensive-minded players to lean on in a close game — not to mention all that youthful energy and excitement— this group wouldn’t be an easy out for anyone.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
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 23 Feb. 2026.
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