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

Relevance
2
as in drilling
to make a hole or series of holes in punch a ticket

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in driving
to urge, push, or force onward cowboys punching cattle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of punching Then left tackle Alaric Jackson was suspended by the NFL for punching a Bills player on the field after the game. — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 When substitute Gleiker Mendoza sealed the win with a superb shot into the top corner, Turan ran up the touchline, punching the air in delight. — Simon Johnson, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Video of an arrest in Donora that shows an officer punching a man sitting in a chair and using a Taser on him is prompting calls for an investigation. — Shelley Bortz, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 The attackers uttered homophobic remarks before repeatedly punching and kicking the victims, police said. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 14 Oct. 2026 Someone who people think is abrasive and is screaming ‘Love me,’ but punching people at the same time. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2026 In June, LaBeouf was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to punching three people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026 Unscrewing its top reveals a small pin that can be used for punching holes, ejecting a SIM card, or simply as a toothpick. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026 According to Liv, LaPenna injured his hand while punching one of the robots but otherwise avoided a serious injury. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punching
  1. slapping
  2. drilling
  3. driving
  4. hitting
  5. piercing
  6. running
  7. smacking
  8. poking
Verb
  • Intriguingly, this might not just be slapping boards into a plastic box.
    — Sean Hollister, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026
  • That incident involved Smith rushing the stage and slapping host Chris Rock with an open hand after the Oscars host made jokes about Jada Pinkett Smith.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of slapping
Verb
  • As this year's higher crude oil prices made drilling more lucrative, the associated volumes of gas coming to market have also risen, regardless of the commodity's price or demand.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The former Duke star was 5 for 8 from the three-point line, drilling a couple from Steph Curry range.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of drilling
Verb
  • That's primarily the point, said Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a Republican who sponsored the measure as a means of driving up voter turnout during the midterm elections.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Technique works well in testing This strategy optimizes both the transport and perovskite layers together, driving efficiency and durability to record levels.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of driving
Verb
  • Antetokounmpo was everywhere, throwing a down a poster dunk over Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, hitting pull-up threes and assisting on a bunch of the Heat’s three-pointers.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Each draw is tied to Anthropic hitting certain compute capacity milestones.
    — Ashley Capoot,Jordan Novet,Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny,Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of hitting
Verb
  • No wonder some of the film’s most piercing moments are on the periphery.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But there’s no icy chill to his vision, only the glib confidence that a feel-good montage or a piercing Anohni and the Johnsons ballad will blind us to his film’s lack of human connection.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of piercing
Verb
  • Every summer, the state plays host to the largest, longest-running citizen bike tour in the world.
    — Washington Post, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2026
  • This seems like a perfectly reasonable debate/dialogue/deliberation to have without everybody--well, most bodies--running for the exits.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of running
Verb
  • But Varma and Shivam Dube (27) upped the ante in the final three overs by smacking 57 runs against Sufyan Moqim, Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Carrington was ejected from the game in the first half after smacking Cunningham across the face during Cunningham's layup attempt.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of smacking
Verb
  • My physical study, on the floor, poking at what was there in the open field of the air, led to newfound levels of learning to process, in poems on the page, where my initial feelings of hunger came from.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In a recent interview with OutKick Dropkick, Hefner was already poking the bear in hopes of getting eyes on his event.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of poking

Browse Nearby Words

punches out
punching
punching bag
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Punching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punching. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All