pack a punch
Idioms-
Also, pack a wallop.
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Be capable of a forceful blow; also, deliver a forceful blow. For example, Knowing Bob could pack a wicked punch, they were careful not to anger him , or She swung her handbag, really packing a wallop . [ Colloquial ; c. 1920]
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Have a powerful effect, as in That vodka martini packed a wallop . Thomas Wolfe had this figurative usage in a letter (c. 1938): “I think my play, The House , will pack a punch.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tunes are skeletal but pack a punch, especially when the singers push their rough-hewn vocals to dramatic peaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
That means that even if an ECB hike under conventional economics wouldn’t make too much of a dent to activity, the act of signaling will pack a punch.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
“Superman,” Disney’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and the animated “Zootopia 2,” cinema owners hope the rest of the year will pack a punch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025
"Mast cells pack a punch, when activated by IgE antibodies they can be said to explode and release inflammatory factors into the skin -- this is what causes itching and hives."
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024
And he seems to pack a punch up his sleeve.
From Poor Man's Rock by Frank Tenney Johnson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
