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Definition of punch verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

punch

verb
 
/pʌntʃ/
 
/pʌntʃ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they punch
 
/pʌntʃ/
 
/pʌntʃ/
he / she / it punches
 
/ˈpʌntʃɪz/
 
/ˈpʌntʃɪz/
past simple punched
 
/pʌntʃt/
 
/pʌntʃt/
past participle punched
 
/pʌntʃt/
 
/pʌntʃt/
-ing form punching
 
/ˈpʌntʃɪŋ/
 
/ˈpʌntʃɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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  1. to hit somebody/something hard with your fist (= closed hand)
    • punch somebody/something He was kicked and punched as he lay on the ground.
    • He was punching the air in triumph.
    • punch somebody/something in/on something She punched him on the nose.
    Extra Examples
    • I punched the pillow in frustration.
    • His attacker had punched him hard in the face.
    • She playfully punched him on the arm.
    • He punched the other boy in the stomach.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • hard
    • lightly
    • playfully
    preposition
    • in
    • on
    phrases
    • kick and punch
    • punch and kick
    See full entry
  2. to make a hole in something with a punch or some other sharp object
    • punch something to punch a time card
    • punch something in/through something The machine punches a row of holes in the metal sheet.
  3. punch something to press buttons or keys on a computer, phone, etc. in order to operate it
    • I punched the button to summon the elevator.
  4. Word Originverb sense 1 and verb sense 3 late Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘puncture, prod’): variant of pounce. verb sense 2 early 16th cent.: perhaps an abbreviation of puncheon, or from the verb punch ‘hit somebody/​something hard’.
Idioms
punch above your weight
  1. to be or try to be more successful than others in doing something that normally requires more skill, experience, money, etc. than you have
    • This player seems to be able to constantly punch above her weight.
    • He punched above his weight as the party’s foreign affairs spokesman.
    Topics Successc2
See punch in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
given
adjective
 
 
From the Word list
OPAL spoken words
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