punches 1 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of punch
1
as in slaps
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 drills
to make a hole or series of holes in punch a ticket

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in drives
to urge, push, or force onward cowboys punching cattle

Synonyms & Similar Words

punches

2 of 3

noun (1)

plural of punch
as in blows
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

punches

3 of 3

noun (2)

plural of punch
as in punctures
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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of punches
Verb
As the officer is pinned down, one person repeatedly punches her in the head while another appears to strike her with an unidentified object before a second officer intervenes. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026 Plus, the contrast stitching throughout both the top and shorts gives it a polished look that punches well above its $37 price tag. — Jill Layton, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026 Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau punches the ball clear as Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic attempts to head the ball during a World Cup ground-stage match in Toronto on June 12, 2026. — Sean Gregory, Time, 30 June 2026 Humble and simple, this Tomato-Basil Chicken punches way above its weight. — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 28 June 2026 One area where the EM11 NL punches above its weight is connectivity. — Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 21 June 2026 In the 2015 track, Sonya’s boyfriend finds them by the pool and starts cussing them out, pushing Coley to the ground, who, in turn, punches him. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 19 June 2026 Food and drink The restaurant is intimate, with seating for 40, but the food punches way above its weight. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 June 2026 Many of these nations have spent years building a footballing infrastructure that punches well above their demographic weight. — Rebekah Evans, TheWeek, 11 June 2026
Noun
With Gable and Rusev left standing, the two went back and forth with punches. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 New York Yankees shortstop José Caballero was at the center of a tense scene on Monday night — one in which benches cleared, words were exchanged, but no punches were thrown. — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 21 July 2026 But despite evading some serious punches from Holloway, McGregor clearly wasn’t right. — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026 The man questioned by police earlier allegedly appeared to throw 10 punches at the man on the ground and three knee strikes or kicks, according to the arrest reports. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026 According to Netflix, live programming punches above its weight for the streamer relative to viewing time. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 July 2026 The contest featured robots delivering punches, kicks and recovery moves, with some continuing to fight despite losing heads during bouts, highlighting advances in humanoid mobility, balance and impact resilience under competitive conditions. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026 Rocky Graziano scores a technical knockout with a barrage of 30 punches against Tony Zale in the sixth round to win the world middleweight boxing title. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026 There was a June 1977 friendly in Buenos Aires where punches were thrown and players were ejected. — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punches
  1. slaps
  2. drills
  3. drives
  4. blows
  5. punctures
  6. hits
  7. pierces
  8. runs
Verb
  • Helmut Haller, West Germany vs England, 1966 Ray Wilson misjudges his headed clearance, Haller gathers it on the edge of the box and, just before Bobby Moore can close him down, slaps a right-footed shot into the far corner.
    — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Wilhelm enters the room, removes most of his clothing and gets into bed with her, slaps her, pushes her away and then caresses her face and cradles her.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
Definition of slaps
Verb
  • He is hyperfocused on details and drills home teaching points relentlessly.
    — Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 June 2026
  • The two countries conducted joint nuclear forces drills earlier this month.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 30 May 2026
Definition of drills
Verb
  • Their fundamentalist, literal understanding of the Bible is one that drives them to take bigger, bolder actions to affirm their belief that the United States is a Christian nation.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026
  • Intentional planning drives better long-term outcomes than an approach prioritizing speed.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of drives
Noun
  • In a little corner of my mind, however, history will always mean the tragic smashing of individual lives by its cruel hands and the scattering of bewildered people reeling from its blows.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 2026
  • One way to look at the Washington Nationals’ kick-in-the-groin sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees — three leads in the eighth inning, three dizzying losses — is that none of the previous blows this team has taken have permanently felled it.
    — Barry Svrluga, New York Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of blows
Noun
  • What the data punctures is the assumption that every task needs a frontier model, priced like one.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • The boy bore no signs of scrapes or skin punctures, so the family initially didn’t take him for medical care.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 29 June 2026
Definition of punctures
Verb
  • The best seat in the house is wherever the room erupts when the ball hits the net.
    — Ali Farooqui, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026
  • Milwaukee righty Logan Henderson was trying to win his fourth straight start, but did not earn a decision after allowing one run and three hits over five innings, striking out four without a walk.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026
Definition of hits
Verb
  • An ice sculpture of a heart includes a tube through the ice arrow that pierces the heart.
    — Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 10 July 2026
  • And who the f--- pierces a 12 year old?
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026
Definition of pierces
Verb
  • Fraser Millward is familiar with both venues, having left a 20-year career in London’s theater and live events industry in 2021 to join the organization that runs Aviva, Factory International, as a technician.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
  • The book instead focuses on Penelope’s diplomatic genius, along with her loyal women who form a network of spies for her along with a secret militia that quietly runs the island from the shadows for two decades while their men are away at war.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 July 2026
Definition of runs

Browse Nearby Words

puncheons
punches
punches out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Punches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punches. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on punches

Nglish: Translation of punches for Spanish Speakers

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