sucker punching

verb

present participle of sucker punch
as in knocking down

Related Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sucker punching
  1. knocking down
  2. pushing
  3. dumping
  4. stabbing
  5. kicking
  6. slashing
  7. flailing
  8. switching
Verb
  • The pair of earthquakes struck on June 24, knocking down buildings, sending residents fleeing for safety and trapping some survivors under the rubble for days.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 8 July 2026
  • Frazier won by unanimous decision after knocking down Ali in Round 15.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of knocking down
Verb
  • The former youth pastor suspected of pushing his wife off a Utah cliff died by suicide in a very unusual way, said the sheriff who oversees Las Vegas’ jails.
    — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • As a car speeds up, the air resistance pushing against it increases and forces the engine to work harder, using more fuel to achieve the same speed.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
Definition of pushing
Verb
  • Part of the issue was Disney’s decision to release the show, which had been completed since around 2024, all at once, dumping 22 episodes onto the platform with limited prior advertising.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
  • Flash flooding continues across South Central Texas as thunderstorms train over the same areas, dumping up to a foot of rain and triggering water rescues and road closures.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 15 July 2026
Definition of dumping
Verb
  • The 74-year-old had been convicted of stabbing his wife to death in 1992.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 16 July 2026
  • The department’s homicide detectives and crime scene investigators took over the stabbing investigation, collecting evidence and questioning witnesses.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Fiji deserved a first try right on halftime to Kalaveti Ravouvou after 11 phases but it was chalked off after Kuruvoli was caught kicking Genge on the floor.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • This injury, sustained by kicking an opponent's calf, forced his early exit from the Round of 16 match.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of kicking
Verb
  • Then Ferrari’s team reboots the underlying technology—centralizing server costs, cleaning up sprawling codebases—while slashing costs.
    — Chris Dobstaff, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Higgins said her solution is to speed up permitting by slashing red tape — both for these types of large, city projects and for home and business owners trying to install resilient upgrades.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • And regardless, such arrangements are unlikely to save a flailing labor market.
    — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
  • Then Mookie Betts drove him in with a comebacker over the mound and past flailing second baseman Edouard Julien.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • During play, participants are constantly switching between jogging, sprinting and directional changes, which creates cardiovascular conditioning similar to structured interval training.
    — Nicole Williams, AJC.com, 14 July 2026
  • Greller talked Spieth into switching from the 3-wood to a 3-iron.
    — Brody Miller, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of switching
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.

Browse Nearby Words

sucker punches
sucker punching
suckers
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Cite this Entry

“Sucker punching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sucker%20punching. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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