Synonyms of punching

punching

verb

present participle of punch

1

as in slapping

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

• slapping
• hitting
• smacking
• knocking
• slamming
• banging
• clapping
• whacking
• pounding
• striking
• clipping
• swiping
• cracking
• kicking
• batting
• bashing
• tapping
• nailing
• jabbing
• shoving
• boxing
• thumping
• hammering
• pushing
• poking
• swatting
• slugging
• licking
• flicking
• stabbing
• chopping
• thwacking
• bobbing
• bludgeoning
• clobbering
• socking
• zapping
• bopping
• rapping
• tagging
• pasting
• clocking
• clouting
• smiting
• busting
• bumping
• belting
• stroking
• bonking
• walloping
• slogging
• biffing
• whaling
• beating
• pummeling
• battering
• slashing
• stamping
• mauling
• cuffing
• roughing
• mangling
• lashing
• hanging one on
• peppering
• pelting
• whipping
• dumping
• kneeing
• scuffing
• butting
• lambasting
• jostling
• buffeting
• prodding
• bunging
• lacing
• flailing
• drubbing
• bunting
• creaming
• spearing
• switching
• clubbing
• felling
• pommeling
• sapping
• thrashing
• cudgeling
• flogging
• bowling (down or over)
• decking
• braining
• leveling
• knocking down
• caning
• sledging
• sucker punching
• conking
• sledgehammering
• flooring
• skulling
• rabbit-punching
• beaning

2

as in drilling

to make a hole or series of holes in

punch a ticket

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drilling
• piercing
• poking
• puncturing
• perforating
• tapping
• holing
• riddling
• boring
• cutting
• penetrating
• slashing
• breaking
• pricking
• splitting
• broaching
• excavating
• slitting
• grooving
• gouging
• prickling
• hollowing
• rupturing
• rending
• notching
• burrowing (into)
• gashing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filling
• sealing
• plugging
• patching

3

as in driving

to urge, push, or force onward

cowboys punching cattle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• driving
• running
• herding
• shepherding
• whipping
• pressing
• wrangling
• goading
• prodding
• pricking
• spurring
• exhorting
• hounding
• flogging
• prompting
• egging
• scourging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of punching

In September 2014, TMZ published a grainy elevator security video that showed Ray Rice, the star running back for the Baltimore Ravens, punching his girlfriend in the face so hard that she was knocked unconscious. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026

Aerating your lawn can improve this by punching holes into the soil or removing small plugs of soil to help water, air, and nutrients penetrate deeper into the ground. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 27 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

Jones abused the boys on their bus rides for about six months, between September 2023 and March 2024, before authorities discovered surveillance video that showed the woman elbowing, stomping and punching the students. —Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026

He was elevated to that position when Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale resigned after being accused of punching a 55-year-old man and his daughter in a North Carolina restaurant. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026

The man then followed the victim off the train and drew a knife, before repeatedly punching the victim in the head and body, police said. —Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026

Honsou’s ex-girlfriend, Riza Marie Simpson, was arrested for punching him in the face. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 21 Jan. 2026

Violence has become an increasing concern, with reports of patients punching and kicking nurses; in November, a gunman threatened to shoot up the Mount Sinai emergency department. —Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026