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
From that moment on, the Bulldogs and the Wizards exchanged haymakers until the final minute.
—
Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
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
These teams are trading haymakers.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
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
These teams are trading haymakers.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haymakers
Noun
-
Tenacious defense and timely free-throw shooting from David and junior Cooper Ellwood sealed the title for Rock Canyon, as star big Kai Valentine tackled junior Jonah Medina after the buzzer and threw a few gleeful fake punches at his chest.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The retro thing isn’t for everyone, but The Violet Mindfield certainly didn’t pull its punches.—
Ramon Ramirez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The blows exchanged were so numerous that The Athletic had to assign Jack Lang to patiently trawl through footage of them all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The MacBook Neo dealt a series of mighty blows to its budget PC competition, but that Lenovo machine’s Arm processor presented some challenges for the Apple laptop’s iPhone chip.—
Joe Osborne,
PC Magazine,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The room fills with the sound of meditative thuds against caribou skin drums and the haunting, throaty vocals of several Tasiilaq men and women.—
Megan Spurrell,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Muffled thuds are heard, and the crying stops.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
So games that normally rely on swipes or button presses can instead be controlled by stepping left or right, jumping or shifting body weight on the pad.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Mar. 2026
-
At a whopping 108 minutes, Trump on Tuesday swung wildly between trying to reassure voters their gamble on his return to power was worth it and targeting the Democrats in the room with a series of sneers, taunts, and swipes.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
25 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
-
In 2023, Araúz was a regular for Panama in the WBC, collecting four hits and three walks in 19 plate appearances and driving in three runs.—
Melissa Lockard,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Italy starter Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the Americans off balance.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On Monday, Naqvi stuck with the broad strokes of her story, repeating Morrison and Afzal’s claims that she’d been held in custody.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Khloé’s then husband, Lamar Odom, spiraled into drug abuse, was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel called Love Ranch, and suffered 12 strokes and six heart attacks while in an extended coma.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haymakers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haymakers. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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