punch-out

American  

[puhnch-out] / ˈpʌntʃˌaʊt /

Or punchout

noun

1. a small section of cardboard or metal surrounded by perforations so that it can be easily forced out.

2. Slang. a fistfight or brawl.

3. 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.

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punch out Idioms  

1. 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.

2. Eject from a military aircraft, as in The pilot punched out just before the plane blew up . [ Slang ; 1960s]

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Etymology

Origin of punch-out

First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase punch out

Example Sentences

And the box, also unchanged since the beginning, features a punch-out spout that can cause a bit of a mess.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2024

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

Related Words

• bloodshed
• combat
• conflict
• dispute
• exchange
• hostility
• melee
• riot
• scuffle
• strife
• struggle
• war
• warfare