punch line

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noun

the climactic phrase or sentence in a joke, speech, advertisement, or humorous story that produces the desired effect.

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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

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Origin of punch line

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Words nearby punch line

puncheon, punch graft, punch in, Punchinello, punching bag, punch line, punch list, punch-out, punch press, punch spoon, punch-up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use punch line in a sentence

Readers eagerly ate up her candid revelations, no names withheld, about what she experienced on the other side of the coverage that perpetually made punch lines out of her persona, her love life and her body.
How Celebrity Memoirs Got So Good|Cady Lang|April 13, 2021|Time
Domestically, the prime minister maintains the dubious line that he is the only man who can keep the still-fragile peace.
Cambodia’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Democracy|David Shaftel|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Last week I turned 40, a bittersweet occasion because I crossed the line to living longer without my mother than with her.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone|Samantha Levine|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Completed in 1953 and composed with standard line breaks and punctuation, the book was completely ignored upon submission.
The Lost Novel of Nobel-Winner José Saramago|Charles Shafaieh|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Is it any wonder that the interests of large corporations and unions get to the front of the line?
The 100 Rich People Who Run America|Mark McKinnon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the end, the line between magic and religion may be something of an artificial one.
Harry Potter and the Torah of Terror|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In this position, the line of cavalry formed the chord of the arc described by the river, and occupied by us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Our talk ranged from the Panhandle to the Canada line, while our horses jogged steadily southward.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
I have drawn a Line between the figures at the extream changes, that next below the Line is the extream.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
My station was on the right of the line, where the breastwork, ending in a redoubt, was steep and high.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The engineer officer charged with preparing the line of retreat reported that the one bridge across the Elster was not sufficient.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for punch line

punch line

noun

the culminating part of a joke, funny story, etc, that gives it its humorous or dramatic point

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

punch line

Origin of punch line

Words nearby punch line

Words related to punch line

How to use punch line in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for punch line