sucker punch

sucker punched; sucker punching; sucker punches

Definition of sucker punch

transitive verb

: to punch (a person) suddenly without warning and often without apparent provocation

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Examples of sucker punch in a Sentence

One of them sucker punched me.

Recent Examples on the Web The woman, who now has two black eyes, said the attack began when one of the men in the group sucker punched her. — Fox News, "California couple hurt in 'very brutal' attack by group of teenagers outside their home," 25 July 2019 Moments later, an older man came up from behind and sucker punched her in the head, demanding her cellphone. — Chicago Tribune Staff, chicagotribune.com, "Daywatch: A look at new photographs by Vivian Maier, a natural sweetener with a tenth of sugar’s calories and other things to know to start your day," 23 Aug. 2019 Early in the 1977 NBA season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar absorbed an elbow to the stomach, waited a moment, and then unloaded a sucker punch into the face of the elbower, Kent Benson. — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, "Myles Garrett was the first piece in rebuilding the Browns; against the Steelers, he damaged them and his career," 15 Nov. 2019 Earlier this month, McGregor was charged with assault for an April incident in which he was caught on video sucker punching a man at a Dublin pub. — Simon Head, MMA Junkie, "Conor McGregor announces Jan. 18 UFC return date; Dana White says 'no deals are even close'," 24 Oct. 2019 Rich Privileged Guy, completely unprovoked, sucker punches Poor Street Urchin. — David Canfield, EW.com, "See the anticipated cover for Harlan Coben's next page-turner," 5 Nov. 2019 The global financial crisis delivered a further sucker punch to Nokia’s sputtering profits, and the company began to cut costs. — Natasha Frost, Quartz, "Nokia’s collapse turned a sleepy town in Finland into an internet wonderland," 29 Oct. 2019 It shouldn’t be confused for a sucker punch, though. — Phillip Morris, cleveland, "As Cleveland poverty worsens, state Supreme Court burns a bridge to equity: Phillip Morris," 29 Sep. 2019 But that initial sonic scene-setting comes right before a kind of jump-cut sucker punch of angular bits, abrasion and ominous feedback. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Best bets: Our picks for this week’s concerts in Connecticut," 29 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sucker punch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

10 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sucker punch.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sucker%20punch. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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