as in licking
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 punching out
Two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell tossed six scoreless innings, punching out nine and allowing just one hit.
—
Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punching out
Verb
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The sugars in the glaze coat the chicken and carrots to create a finger-licking delicious dinner.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
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And the Trojans’ defense that came in licking its wounds after allowing 502 yards in a last-gasp loss at Illinois two weeks ago?—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Led by blaring ‘80s synthesizers and a pounding beat, the song features a distorted lead vocal from D’Angelo, who accompanies himself on multitracked backing vocals with the occasional soul shriek thrown in for good measure.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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John Candy famously took a racquetball to the skull in a key comedic scene from the 1984 film Splash — and fellow actor Tom Hanks recalls that his late costar's head might've been pounding already after Candy spent the night before drinking with Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In December 1978, Gacy confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering dozens of boys and men, some as young as 14 years old, and hiding many of their bodies in a crawl space under the house.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Unlike a killer hiding in the woods, a guy who gets you in your dreams is literally impossible to hide from, and watching our plucky heroine Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) trying to resist sleep presents a new kind of awful torture.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What To Know The Philippines' inter-agency National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea on Monday released drone footage showing a Chinese coast guard ship lashing a Philippine boat with its water cannon.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Coastal areas of suburban Long Island could see flooding, with up to 3 inches (about 8 centimeters) of rain and lashing winds expected, the weather service said.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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John Cooper described how much Redford enjoyed working over ideas with young filmmakers at the Sundance Institute each summer.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
20 Sep. 2025
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The three babyfaces took turns working over Rollins with a barrage of running attacks in the corner before agreeing to try to put Rollins through a table on the outside.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Sedaris were sitting front row, with Parker whipping out her phone to film Reese.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
16 Oct. 2025
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While summer may be over, nothing is stopping you from whipping this thing out for the holiday season.—
Wilder Davies,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In doing so, Berchtold was able to spend increasing time with Jan, even giving her a job at his furniture store.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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In borrowing from a patchwork of references, and steeping them in a brew both sacred and profane, D’Angelo was doing more than homage.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Oh, 6-0 Georgia Tech’s right on the cusp of the bracket (after beating 2-5 Virginia Tech 35-20)?—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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With a make on the second, Duke won by five, miraculously beating the spread of 4 1/2, per Andrew’s telling.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punching out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punching%20out. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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