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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punching out
Verb
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Elizabeth and Dominic's 95 guests burst into laughter as the dog jumped into the fountain and began walking around, licking up water.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025 -
Charlotte has the right process, but the Hornets are also licking their wounds a bit from a couple of 2024 offseason moves that didn’t quite work out.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Here, a shopping mall serves as a safe haven from the undead pounding on the doors outside.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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The service itself pulsed with sound with horns blaring, drums pounding and voices rising in song.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In 2024, Machado’s candidacy was blocked, she was prevented from leaving the country, and she has been forced to live in hiding.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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Machado, who is the founder of the pro-democracy movement Sumate, and a key opponent of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, is currently living in hiding somewhere in Venezuela following threats to her life.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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How much the reader should sympathize with Lisa—whether the character whom Harwicz has created is more aptly seen as a wronged person lashing out or as a more lucid villain—also feels unresolved.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
8 Oct. 2025
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Bill Burr is lashing out at critics for slamming his appearance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
8 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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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
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The wind was whipping this past week at McGrath Stadium, mist in the air.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even though Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to give Amorim a full season, and losing to Sunderland was not regarded as terminal, doing so would have brought immense pressure.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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Hi hi hello, how is everyone doing on this lovely Sunday?—
Rosalind Bowling,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And in 2024, the 6-seed Mets did it (beating the Phillies before losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS).—
Ryan Ford,
Freep.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Punching out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punching%20out. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
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