Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

sucker punch

verb

Definition of sucker punch

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

sucker punch

noun

See sucker punch defined for English-language learners

See sucker punch defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-59e50f5a357b4
'Spox' May Go On The Record
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59e4fc1aaafd6
Trending: New Joe Ide Novel Causes 'Righteous' Spike
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Examples of sucker punch in a Sentence

  1. One of them sucker punched me.

First Known Use of sucker punch

1964

SUCKER PUNCH Defined for English Language Learners

sucker punch

verb

Definition of sucker punch for English Language Learners

  • : to hit (a person) suddenly and usually without any obvious reason

Learn More about sucker punch

  1. See words that rhyme with sucker punch

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sucker punch? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

euphony

play

pleasing or sweet sound

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  2. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  3. mike "microphone"

  4. moron “a very stupid person”

  5. terrorism “The use of violent acts to frighten"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

sucker punch

Test Your Vocabulary

Forms of Government Quiz

  • knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
  • A gerontocracy is rule by:
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59e50f5a357b4
'Spox' May Go On The Record

From newsroom lingo to the mainstream

alt-59e506c5c02ae
C'mon, Of Course 'Myriad' Is a Noun

For a myriad of reasons

alt-59e12097b419d
'Gamut' and 'Gambit' (and 'Gauntlet' Too)

Know when to use (or run) each.

tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Some borrowed words don't get returned

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
rembrandt-painting-a-young-scholar-and-his-tutor
Original Meanings Quiz

A quiz for the pedantic and those annoyed by them!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: sucker punch in a Sentence