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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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of punch line

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Words nearby punch line

punched tape, puncheon, 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. 2023

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
Edith Piaf mournfully lists her mistakes, allowing Front a rare punch-line: “So… you do have some regrets.”
When Eva Braun Met Anna Nicole Smith|Nico Hines|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was a self-made man, and a self-destroyed man—so he wrote his own punch line.
Harry Shearer on Being Nixon, ‘The Simpsons Movie’ Sequel, and Why Obama Should Return His Nobel|Marlow Stern|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Palin views herself as a “punch of reality” as opposed to a punch line.
Sarah Palin Is Perfect for ‘The View’|Dean Obeidallah|July 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The last few years have regrettably made the phrase “Republican pollster” less a job title than a punch line.
The Cantor Prediction Is Part of a Pattern: GOP Pollsters Stink|Kristen Soltis Anderson|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Reelecting Gray knowing he could be indicted would once again make the District a punch line for the late-night talk shows.
There’ are Gray Shadows in Tuesday’s DC Primary|Eleanor Clift|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Phil said, "Because people are—" And then he caught himself and waved his hand and muttered, "I forgot the punch line."
The First One|Herbert D. Kastle
He began to hold back slyly, like a comedian building up the tension before a punch-line.
The Fourth R|George Oliver Smith

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