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punch-up

noun

Definition of punch-upnext
chiefly British
as in fisticuffs

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of punch-up About deluded coaches and philandering teammates and practice-field punch-ups. — Leander Schaerlaeckens june 8, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026 Among them are Neeson as a Great Gatsby-esque type who puts Declan in the hospital after a punch-up and Cleese as a priest who also doubles as the Grim Reaper. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 11 May 2026 Two of the pilots are multi-camera shows, which are shot in front of a live audience and can benefit from the plethora of comedy writers who live in the area and serve as punch-up writers. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2026 But comics depend on feedback – punch-ups from fellow comedians and reactions from audiences – iterating jokes in the same way lean startups may innovate new products. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2025 That said, the negative reputation surrounding the last lines in Jones’ thorny adaptation — a punch-up from Ellison’s original text that’s meaner and more sexist, no doubt — seems outsized. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 July 2025 Often, when shows do crossovers, the writers on one will do punch-up for their characters on the other. — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025 Toward the end there’s a punch-up, with several players involved. — David Szalay, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch-up
  1. fistfight
  2. slugfest
  3. blows
  4. confrontation
  5. melee
  6. punch-out
  7. brawl
  8. duel
Noun
  • Bennett had gotten into a fistfight with Bowman outside an Atlanta hookah lounge and was fatally shot by someone in Bowman’s entourage.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • After the high-speed chase erupts into gunfire and a brutal fistfight, Kim hijacks the vehicle, takes the official hostage and speeds off a bridge into the water below.
    — Regina Kim, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of fistfight
Noun
  • Sweden loses key piece The first half was a sloppy slugfest as both teams tried to use their physicality to assume control.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026
  • The Republican race for governor between Rick Jackson and Burt Jones has been nothing short of a slugfest.
    — Shannon McCaffrey, AJC.com, 10 June 2026
Definition of slugfest
Noun
  • Their failure was perceived as part of a pattern of significant blows to union power during the Reagan era.
    — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Zeller sets this up ably by incorporating the sledgehammer blows of the builder hired by Toby into percussive passages of Volker Bertelmann’s ominous score.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of blows
Noun
  • But this sleekly miserable noir about the aftermath of a feckless man’s confrontation with his wife’s younger lover transports the stuff of archetype into Putin’s Russia.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The viewer could enjoy the confrontation with the reassuring sense that watching served some larger good.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of confrontation
Noun
  • Swirling around them was a melee of cameras, celebrations and commiserations.
    — Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Infantry has been around since officers figured out how to get soldiers organized instead of fighting in melees like football hooligans on a Saturday night after 12 pints of lager.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of melee
Noun
  • Most people aren’t focused on Advent calendars right now — those chocolates hidden under perforated punch-outs to celebrate each day of the season.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2026
  • During the portion of Thursday’s practice open to reporters, the Patriots practiced punch-out drills directly in front of reporters.
    — Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
Definition of punch-out
Noun
  • Independent Russian media regularly report about returning veterans involved in assaults, drunken brawls and even killings.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • At game’s end, Missouri players attempted to plant the state flag on the Jayhawk logo at midfield and nearly ignited a brawl.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of brawl
Noun
  • The new poll from Focaldata/Financial Times, released over Labor Day weekend, shows former Vice President Kamala Harris and current Vice President JD Vance heading for a potential duel in 2028 for the White House.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Harry Coyle, an NBC Sports staff director, cemented his place in sports history with his brainstorm in 1955 that a camera placed just right in center field would better capture a 360-view of the duel between the batter and the pitcher.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of duel

Browse Nearby Words

punch-outs
punch-up
punch-ups
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Cite this Entry

“Punch-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch-up. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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