1
as in to slap
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
after the man had punched the bartender for eighty-sixing him, bouncers stepped in and restrained him until the police could arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to drill
to make a hole or series of holes in
punch a ticket
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in impact
the quality of an utterance that provokes interest and produces an effect
the real punch of the speech came in its closing lines
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in vigor
active strength of body or mind
we're going to need a candidate with real punch if voters are ever going to get excited about this election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the poor palooka wasn't able to land a single punch on his opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in puncture
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
old computers used to get information by reading the punches on a series of cards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of punch
Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 26 Jan. 2026
Booksmart seems to have resonated with a certain way of punching it up without taking over the thing.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2026
Odeya Pinkus, InStyle, 25 Jan. 2026
Egor Dëmin sparked Brooklyn’s first real punch, drilling back-to-back 3-pointers to stop the bleeding.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punch
Verb
The Seahawks punched their ticket by winning a rubber match against the Los Angeles Rams, outlasting their division rival 31-27 in an explosive thriller.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 26 Jan. 2026
Booksmart seems to have resonated with a certain way of punching it up without taking over the thing.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2026
Noun
This cotton candy shade packs a lot of punch when paired with tiny little accent hearts.
—Odeya Pinkus, InStyle, 25 Jan. 2026
Egor Dëmin sparked Brooklyn’s first real punch, drilling back-to-back 3-pointers to stop the bleeding.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch
Verb
-
Five players were booked during their defeat to Cameroon, including Foster, who slapped the linesman’s hand twice and screamed in his face in frustration over a decision.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Mimicking what happened seven years earlier after the Dallas playoff win in Charlotte, the players ran back outside and took a lap around the stadium, slapping hands with delirious home fans.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
American companies arrived to drill the wells and build the fields.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In Illinois, Ellis drilled in on a particularly controversial confrontation between Border Patrol agents and civilians in Chicago’s Little Village on October 23, during which Bovino and his agents unleashed tear gas and flashbangs on an angry crowd.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Violent confrontations targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota are being driven by outside actors exploiting chaos, not organic protest, according to a protest insider warning that the situation is rapidly spiraling.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The driver then drove into the city of Wheat Ridge and allegedly crashed into a Honda Pilot near Pierce Street and West 32nd Avenue several minutes later before continuing on.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In his defense, Barnett took the stand to say there was no murder plot and that Thomas threatened him for the money using physical violence — knocking out a tooth, injuring his left shoulder, and smacking his private parts.—
Sydney Pereira,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Stiddy is the guy who throws no-look passes in practice and talks smack to the starting defense.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Bird by Bird is generous, charming, and quietly piercing.—
Jasna Hodžić,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Indu and Mahipal run a Hindu monastery, or ashram, in India called Hanslok that was founded by Mahipal’s father.—
Bernadette Toh,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Most of the other candidates lacked play-calling experience in the NFL, outside of Harris, Martindale, Lions assistant Jim O’Neil and Packers run game coordinator Demarcus Covington.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody Friday after he was arrested and hit with federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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But of all the spaghetti that got thrown at the wall, this is the one that hits for reasons that are totally orthogonal to politics and sort of Washington.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Hadn’t poked my nose in anywhere, hadn’t seen anything, and just really enjoyed watching the film.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
And the Banchet’s executive director, Michael Muser, poked at food influencers, made fun of the rising popularity of alcohol-free wine and jabbed at some restaurants using AI for creating recipes.—
Zareen Syed,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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