What does "punch" mean?
A hit or strike with one's fist.
Punch
/pʌnt͡ʃ/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hit or strike with one's fist.
- Grammar: punch is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: blow, aggressiveness, amperage, amplify.
- Useful contrasts: backhands, block, bradawl.
- Usage evidence: Do you want another glass of fruit punch?
How to use "punch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "punch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "punch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "punch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "punch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "punch" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "blow" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "punch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hit or strike with one's fist. countable
"Another Karadeniz cross led to Cudicini's first save of the night, with the Spurs keeper making up for a weak punch by brilliantly pushing away Christian Noboa's snap-shot."
- 2 A device, generally slender and round, used for creating holes in thin material, for driving an object through a hole in a containing object, or to stamp or emboss a mark or design on a surface. countable
- 3 A beverage, generally containing a mixture of fruit juice and some other beverage, often alcoholic. uncountable, usually
- 4 Any of various riodinid butterflies of the genus Dodona of Asia.
- 5 A short fat person. archaic, regional
"Here I did make the workmen drink, and saw my coach cleaned and oyled; and, staying among poor people there in the alley, did hear them call their fat child Punch, which pleased me mightily, that word being become a word of common use for all that is thick and short."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 Ellipsis of Suffolk Punch (“type of horse”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"‘And the Punches,’ said William. ‘There’s cattle! A Suffolk Punch, when he’s a good un, is worth his weight in gold. Did you ever breed any Suffolk Punches yourself, sir?’"
- 7 (boxing) a blow with the fist wordnet
- 8 A blow from something other than the fist. countable, rare
"For in Tashbaan there is only one traffic regulation, which is that everyone who is less important has to get out of the way for everyone who is more important; unless you want a cut from a whip or a punch from the butt end of a spear."
- 9 A device, generally slender and round, used for creating holes in thin material, for driving an object through a hole in a containing object, or to stamp or emboss a mark or design on a surface.; A mechanism for punching holes in paper or other thin material. countable
- 10 A butterfly of the genus Dodona.
- 11 a tool for making holes or indentations wordnet
- 12 Power, strength, energy. uncountable
"The tornado is finally losing its punch."
- 13 A hole or opening created with a punch. countable
- 14 an iced mixed drink usually containing alcohol and prepared for multiple servings; normally served in a punch bowl wordnet
- 15 Impact. uncountable
- 16 An extension piece applied to the top of a pile; a dolly.
- 17 A prop, as for the roof of a mine.
Verb
- 1 To strike with one's fist. transitive
"If she punches me, I'm gonna break her nose."
- 2 To employ a punch to create a hole in or stamp or emboss a mark on something.
- 3 deliver a quick blow to wordnet
- 4 To herd. transitive
- 5 To mark a ticket.
"The guard performs athletic feats in jumping from coach to coach while the train is in motion, taking orders for tickets, punching them on a bell punch in his van, and then returning to distribute them to passengers."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 make a hole into or between, as for ease of separation wordnet
- 7 To operate (a device or system) by depressing a button, key, bar, or pedal, or by similar means. transitive
"As night watchman he was required to punch a watchman's clock; the stations were scattered all over the place."
- 8 drive forcibly as if by a punch wordnet
- 9 To enter (information) on a device or system. transitive
- 10 To hit (a ball or similar object) with less than full force. transitive
"He punched a hit into shallow left field."
- 11 To make holes in something (rail ticket, leather belt, etc) (see also the verb under Etymology 2). transitive
"So I punched a hole in the roof, ah-ah, ah-ah Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you"
- 12 To thrust against; to poke.
"to punch one with the end of a stick or the elbow"
- 13 Ellipsis of punch above one's weight, especially, to date somebody more attractive than oneself. UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, intransitive, slang
- 14 To perform pigeage: to stamp down grape skins that float to the surface during fermentation. transitive
- 15 To emphasize; to give emphasis to. transitive
"Getting a little tired of you punching that word."
- 16 To light marijuana in a bong. Australia, New-Zealand, slang
"We're gonna punch a few cones."
Adjective
- 1 Short and thickset. Northern-England, Scotland, archaic
"Taken away from two Grooms on Monday the 16th inſtant, in the great Road that leads to Epping from London in Epping-Foreſt, a little gray punch Stoned Horſe, hath all his paces, thorn mane, bob tailed, marked with I. S. on the near ſhoulder, about 14 hands."
Proper Noun
- 1 A glove puppet who is the main character used in a Punch and Judy show. British
- 2 A surname.
- 3 Any butterfly of genus Dodona.
Example
"Do you want another glass of fruit punch?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "punch"?
Common synonyms include: blow, aggressiveness, amperage, amplify, aperitif, armipotence.
How do you use "punch" in a sentence?
Do you want another glass of fruit punch?
How do you pronounce "punch"?
Pronounced /pʌnt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English punchen, partially from Old French ponchonner (“to punch”), from ponchon (“pointed tool”), from Latin punctio, from punctus, perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick”); and partially from Middle English punchen, a syncopated variant of punischen ("to punish"; see punish). Also influenced by Middle English punchon ("a punch"; see puncheon). Compare also Middle English bunchen, bonchen (“to punch, deliver a blow, pound, beat”).
Etymology 2
Shortened form of puncheon, from Middle English punchoun, from Old French ponchon (“pointed tool”), from Latin punctio, from punctus, perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick”).
Etymology 3
PIE word *pénkʷe From Hindi पाँच (pā̃c, “five”)/Urdu پانچ (pānc), because of the drink's original five ingredients (spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar, and spice), from Sanskrit पञ्च (páñca). Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, and sengi (“currency”); related to Pompeii.
Etymology 4
From Punch.
Etymology 5
Uncertain. Perhaps shortened from puncheon (compare German Punze, Punzen (“cask; short fat person or thing”)) or Punchinello.
Etymology 6
Shortened from Punchinello.
Etymology 7
Variant of Points.