as in licked
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of punched out
But two plays later, Drake Maye was lunging forward on a run and had the ball punched out.
—
CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026
Packer defensive lineman Willie Davis somehow punched out the ball.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2026
In a closeout opportunity for the defending champions, Shohei Ohtani took the mound for LA and punched out 10 batters across six-plus scoreless innings of work.
—Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
The mass of players converged in a pile after the snap, and as Arnold leaned across the goal line, Georgia linebacker CJ Allen punched out the football.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Then, Rams running back Kyren Williams fumbled on his way to the end zone, the ball literally punched out just feet away from scoring a go-ahead touchdown.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
The late, great Red Sox legend Luis Tiant also punched out 11 in his MLB debut, but with Cleveland on July 19, 1964; his performance was exactly four years after Hall of Famer Juan Marichal racked up 12 in his first career game on July 19, 1960.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026
Packer defensive lineman Willie Davis somehow punched out the ball.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2026
In a closeout opportunity for the defending champions, Shohei Ohtani took the mound for LA and punched out 10 batters across six-plus scoreless innings of work.
—Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
The mass of players converged in a pile after the snap, and as Arnold leaned across the goal line, Georgia linebacker CJ Allen punched out the football.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Then, Rams running back Kyren Williams fumbled on his way to the end zone, the ball literally punched out just feet away from scoring a go-ahead touchdown.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
The late, great Red Sox legend Luis Tiant also punched out 11 in his MLB debut, but with Cleveland on July 19, 1964; his performance was exactly four years after Hall of Famer Juan Marichal racked up 12 in his first career game on July 19, 1960.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punched out
Verb
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Rumor has it the fashion crowd licked the shelves clean in Paris as soon as the first designs hit stores.—
Christina Holevas,
Vogue,
26 Mar. 2026
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Of course, the flue was closed, so the fire licked up the walls, left a smell like the fall, like ancient smokehouses and dung.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Old timers can recall when clockwork storms pounded in the summer and drizzled in the winter.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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The fort stood high above the river, where fearsome artillery was able to turn back the Union gunboats that had pounded low-lying Fort Henry into submission.—
Bill Steiden,
Des Moines Register,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Trump has lashed out at a number of G7 members and NATO allies for not responding to his calls for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although in recent days several of them had indicated a willingness to back appropriate action to restore the key waterway to normal traffic.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
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Many Banksy fans mourned the loss of the mystery and lashed out at the news outlet.—
Laurie Kellman,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The agents appeared to know young Markell was losing weight, forced to eat crappy food, whipped with a belt and slapped around.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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The South Florida man, who bears more than a striking resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein, was cruising down I-95 in his convertible about a week ago when a passerby whipped out his phone.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Crow-Armstrong had support from his team during Friday’s news conference, where first baseman Michael Busch, manager Craig Counsell, hitting coach Dustin Kelly, assistant hitting coach John Mallee and staff assistant AJ Lewis took in the scene.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
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Alcantara left the mound with a lead, courtesy of the bottom of Miami’s lineup stringing together hits in the second.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tim Brinkhof Million Stories Many were expecting extremism survivor and free speech advocate Salman Rushdie to take home the Nobel Prize in Literature, but Annie Ernaux beat him to it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Mar. 2026
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Mikael Granlund scored twice, Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Thursday night.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After a review, it was decided that Raddysh was knocked to the ice and into the crease, prohibiting Vasilevskiy from a possible save.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
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But reports that Iran had responded negatively to the proposal briefly knocked index futures off their pre-market highs and lifted oil prices off their morning lows.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Kuwait’s Al Salmi tanker was attacked at the port connected to the United Arab Emirates city better known as a destination for influencers, Reuters and The New York Times reported.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Houthis have previously attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea to disrupt the flow of oil, gas and other commodities through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punched out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punched%20out. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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