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
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2026
Today, kind of punched myself in the face.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 23 Feb. 2026
The robots carried out coordinated martial arts moves, including punches, kicks, and high-difficulty flips.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punch
Verb
Newhuis is accused of later returning and assaulting the manager by punching him multiple times, police said.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2026
Today, kind of punched myself in the face.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Noun
Zarate has drink offerings like a king cake old fashioned, an ube colada, hurricanes and rum punch.
—Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 23 Feb. 2026
The robots carried out coordinated martial arts moves, including punches, kicks, and high-difficulty flips.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch
Verb
-
Duer slapped a single up the middle, but Harrison struckout looking to end the inning.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The ruling is a major hit to Trump, who used a novel reading of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to slap a barrage of tariffs on American trading partners.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Eagles, not known to be feared behind the line, drilled 9 of 20 to account for all but nine points of their halftime point total.—
Randy Jennings,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The sample in the study came from a 25-meter (82-foot) cylindrical core of ice the team drilled from an area of the cave known as the Great Hall.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The introduction of rats, dogs, cats and stoats, as well as hunting by people and destruction of native forest habitats, drove species of the country’s flourishing flightless birds — the kakapo among them — to near or complete extinction.—
Charlotte Graham-McLay,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Set the scene Any drive through Napa is a treat, and coming north from San Francisco is like driving through the history of New World winemaking.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There was that type of moment Tuesday, when Joe Mack – considered one of the top catching prospects in baseball - smacked a fifth-inning grand slam off Phillies’ minor league pitcher Andrew Walling in a 6-1 Marlins win.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of last year’s World Series, Ernie Clement smacked a fly ball off Yoshinobu Yamamoto into the left-center-field gap with the bases loaded and the score tied.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
With blond horizontal stripes dyed in her dark brown hair, bold black eyeliner and the smiley lip piercing, Liu has cut an alternative path to the top of a sport that long valued a specific kind of femininity.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The actress sported her septum piercing and her glam followed suit with her Gothic styling, with coiffed hair by styled by Hyungsun Ju and makeup highlights that included bold brows and a deep red lip by artist Alex Babsky.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The first, the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance auto festival, is slated to run Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, for its 20th year.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
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When a soccer player runs downfield in anticipation of the ball being passed to them, the goal is to have the ball arrive where the player will be in the future, but that mental calculation is familiar to us, intuitively, because the soccer field itself is static and unchanging.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Elsewhere, stories of economic gloom – from galloping inflation to restaurant closures and the knock-on impact of severe tax increases – describe the many ways in which the prolonged war in Ukraine is now hitting Russians hard in the pocket at home.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Finally, Kylie Minogue bags another top 40 hit thanks to the release of Tension Tour/Live 2025 (Mushroom Music) on CD and vinyl.—
Lars Brandle,
Billboard,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As Luna in your financial quadrant pokes the Sun in your friendship zone, money boundaries and group expectations likely tug in different directions.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Galloway pokes a single to left field.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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