Punch

How to spell punch

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce punch

What does punch mean?

1. verbTo strike someone or something hard with a closed fist.
2. nounA mixed drink combining fruit juices and often alcohol, served from a large bowl.
3. nounA tool used to pierce holes or stamp marks in material such as paper, leather, or metal.

Punch in a sentence

• verb

  The boxer trained for months so he could punch with real power.

• noun

  She ladled the fruit punch into glasses for the guests.

• noun

  He used a leather punch to make the strap fit his wrist.

• verb

  In self-defence class they learned how to punch an attacker and run.

• noun

  A bowl of warm spiced punch greeted everyone at the winter party.

• noun

  The office punch left two neat holes in every page of the report.

Where does punch come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The striking and piercing senses of punch come ultimately from the Latin verb pungere, meaning 'to prick' or 'to pierce', whose past participle gave punctus 'a point'. Through Old French poinçon (a pointed tool) and the related verb poinçonner 'to stamp or pierce', the word entered Middle English as punchen, first meaning to prod, pierce, or stamp a hole, and only later narrowing to the idea of a sharp blow with the fist. The metal tool called a punch keeps the original piercing sense almost unchanged. The drink called punch is a separate story and is widely believed to come from a Hindi or Sanskrit word panch meaning 'five', supposedly for the five traditional ingredients, though that origin is debated. Either way, the simple four-letter spelling has been stable in English for centuries, which is why it gives modern writers very little trouble.

How the word is built

• punch (from Old French poinçon / Latin punctiare: to prick, pierce)