as in punches
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
dealt his opponent a haymaker that sent him reeling across the boxing ring
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Recent Examples of haymakers
The best in the world kept throwing haymakers at one another, run after run.
—
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
The latest haymakers thrown come courtesy of executive interviews in The Financial Times.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
The Broncos must not go down without throwing haymakers.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2026
The two heavyweights exchanged haymakers before Olivier caught Reaves with right hand and sent him to the ice.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
An all-time great and a two-time MVP trading haymakers in the form of go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter of a win-and-in environment.
—Chris Bumbaca, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Those fans who arrived after kickoff missed a chaotic beginning as the talented offenses delivered haymakers.
—Matt Roy, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
These teams are trading haymakers.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
The latest haymakers thrown come courtesy of executive interviews in The Financial Times.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
The Broncos must not go down without throwing haymakers.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2026
The two heavyweights exchanged haymakers before Olivier caught Reaves with right hand and sent him to the ice.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
An all-time great and a two-time MVP trading haymakers in the form of go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter of a win-and-in environment.
—Chris Bumbaca, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Those fans who arrived after kickoff missed a chaotic beginning as the talented offenses delivered haymakers.
—Matt Roy, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
These teams are trading haymakers.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haymakers
Noun
-
After ensuring the donor area is properly numbed, the medical team will remove individual hair grafts one by one with tiny punches.—
Ethan Stone,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Through punches and pummeling, cheating and cursing, their bond remained (mostly) intact.—
Jillian Sederholm,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The layoffs are the latest in a series of blows to Bay Area employees in tech and manufacturing sectors.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Multifaceted crisis The latest announcement is the latest in a string of blows for the crumbling former royal palace, amid growing complaints that the museum’s infrastructure and staffing haven’t kept pace with the crowds pouring through its galleries.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Muffled thuds are heard, and the crying stops.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
At about two this morning, the familiar howl of air-raid sirens woke me in the center of Kyiv, followed by the low thuds of anti-aircraft cannons attempting to shoot down Russian drones.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
During two recent wintry swipes in North Georgia, drivers largely abided by the directive to keep off the roads.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Altman and other senior executives took to social media to respond to swipes from Anthropic, which ran Super Bowl ads that poked fun at OpenAI's decision to run ads within ChatGPT.—
Ashley Capoot,Kate Rooney,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, neighbors can still hear the thumps.—
Tyler Jett,
Des Moines Register,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In this world, items are paid for by receiving slaps to the face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Europe has long underspent on defense, and where American cajoling for decades had not worked, a few face slaps succeeded.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Castellanos, who could platoon with Gavin Sheets during the season, made his second Cactus League start at first base on Tuesday afternoon and had two hits.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Six of Newport Harbor’s eight hits came from the six through nine spots in the batting order and those players combined for five RBIs.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
At the Grammys, Minerva applied the classic neutral OPI Bare My Soul to Lovato's nails but outlined each one with thin strokes of Black Onyx for just the right amount of edginess, and did the same with rhinestones for a glitzy, glam mani during the holidays.—
Kara Nesvig,
Allure,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Designed to dash on realistic, hairlike strokes, the Nano Brow is ideal for those looking to fill in sparse patches for subtle definition and fullness.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haymakers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haymakers. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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