as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
you should take a course in anger management—you can't go around punching out people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in fistfight
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of punch out
Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
Letters from nobles and tavern menus are presented as handouts and players keep track of their treasure with little punch out gold coins.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2025
The hard-throwing lefty dominated across 72 appearances (72.0 innings), notching a 1.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 84 punch-outs.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for punch out
Verb
Webb required four pitches to punch out the first batter of the game, Ezequiel Tovar, and went on to strike out the side, for good measure.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
Letters from nobles and tavern menus are presented as handouts and players keep track of their treasure with little punch out gold coins.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
The lefty was able to work his way out of trouble each time, first striking out Ozuna to end the third before getting a pair of punch-outs to end the fourth after initially putting two on with nobody out.
—Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2025
The hard-throwing lefty dominated across 72 appearances (72.0 innings), notching a 1.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 84 punch-outs.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for punch out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch out
Verb
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The sketch concluded with the librarian licking Moynihan's face with a forked tongue and then unbuttoning her blouse — causing all of the boys' heads to explode.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
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The first is Christopher Walken as Gabriel, a mean-spirited angel who sniffs and licks crime scenes and inspects children’s teeth for reasons that sort of make sense within the movie.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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From a football perspective, this game would be a fistfight at the line of scrimmage.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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Lowell plunders an emerald out of a wrecked ship, starts a fistfight with a local ruler, nearly dies when a boa constrictor wraps itself around her neck, and is wounded by an alligator.—
Michael Waters,
New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Still seething after a sloppy 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson wasn’t hiding his dissatisfaction with a defeat that seemed to diminish his team’s momentum.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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But the jury in the federal civil lawsuit found that Moore violated Gillispie's rights by hiding evidence that would have helped Gillispie's defense and creating unfair lineup procedures for the victims.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Walpole got on the board first, scoring three seconds into the second quarter when Jack English pounded the ball into the end zone on third-and-goal from the one.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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Without its dynamic starting quarterback, the Cougars were outpaced by visiting Inglewood, which pounded the rock in a 40-16 victory on Friday at Saddleback College.—
Zach Cavanagh,
Oc Register,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Coming out the second half the teams continued to trade blows, after the Rockets took a 32-30 lead Xaverian responded with a 15-5 run to end the quarter to take a 45-37 lead.—
Mukala Kabongo,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
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The Anteaters withstood an early jolt from Cal State Fullerton in their Big West Conference matchup, but came back with several blows of their own in an 86-64 win at Titan Gym.—
Dan Arritt,
Oc Register,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Despite his mediator role, Rodríguez is also known for his explosive temperament, lashing out in Congress and publicly threatening and insulting members of the opposition.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Jan. 2026
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Trump spent most of 2025 downplaying the significance of the files, at times lashing out against Republicans who demanded the release of information about other potential perpetrators.—
Stephen Fowler,
NPR,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Yankees started their slugfest in style against the Rays, as Judge’s big fly traveled 429 feet to the batter’s eye at Steinbrenner Field.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
20 Aug. 2025
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Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jack Westover Notes: It’s been a slow, ugly slugfest among the backup tight ends to see who can win the No. 3 job.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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There were some frightening moments early Monday for a Miramar man after police say he was pistol whipped during a home invasion and his French bulldog was stolen.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
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Or whips around his defender in a bold pirouette.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punch out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch%20out. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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