Record one's time of departure from work, as in We never punch out at exactly five o'clock . This usage, dating from the 1920s, alludes to the use of a time clock. Also see punch in , def. 1.
a small section of cardboard or metal surrounded by perforations so that it can be easily forced out.
Slang. a fistfight or brawl.
Baseball. the air-punching gesture an umpire makes to denote a third strike, effectively ending the batter’s at-bat.
Stein didn’t develop his signature punch-out until his third season umpiring in the minors.
Record one's time of departure from work, as in We never punch out at exactly five o'clock . This usage, dating from the 1920s, alludes to the use of a time clock. Also see punch in , def. 1.
Eject from a military aircraft, as in The pilot punched out just before the plane blew up . [ Slang ; 1960s]
First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase punch out
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Well, this time Stallone elected to step back from prime punch-out duties and leave the heavy hitting to Statham, his character’s longtime second-in-command.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
“Adbert comes in to get the ground ball and then the big punch-out of Tatis and then Leiter goes through the heart of their order.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 3, 2023
But the punch-out method made it difficult to craft an aesthetically pleasing, natural-looking hairline upon transplantation.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2022
In the fifth inning, with a punch-out of first baseman Eric Hosmer, Scherzer joined baseball’s 3,000-strikeout club.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
The sinker completed a three-pitch strikeout — his ninth punch-out of the day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2021
He pulls that punch out of the blue, and when he lets that bomb go, you're in trouble.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Quick thinking led him to open the door and punch out Wiggle Inn’s window screens so water would flow through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
“We threatened in the eighth inning, had the guys we wanted up to bat, but Robertson found his way to punch out the side, again, the same three guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2024
It can punch out the front and rear underbodies which support the car's outer skin and provide a platform for suspension components.
From Reuters ● Apr. 27, 2023
We punch out at noon and walk to the parking lot, which is now full of cars.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Never before in postseason history had a pitcher gone eight or more shutout innings with at least 12 punch-outs and zero walks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
“Then the secondary stuff is really nice,” Ross said “You go that deep in the game, you’re bound to, with his stuff, get some extra punch-outs there.”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
Just like Colorado GM Joe Sakic has stuck with Bednar after earlier-than-expected playoff punch-outs, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois said he never considered changing coaches after that debacle.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
“No matter what, whether he went 0 for 4 with four punch-outs or 4 for 4 with three homers, he’s the same guy every day,” Kendrick said.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2017
But the movie as a whole is fairly generic action fare: a few punch-outs, a few shootouts, nothing special.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2014
Definitions 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.
