punch-out
Americannoun
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a small section of cardboard or metal surrounded by perforations so that it can be easily forced out.
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Slang. a fistfight or brawl.
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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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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.
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Eject from a military aircraft, as in The pilot punched out just before the plane blew up . [ Slang ; 1960s]
Etymology
Origin of punch-out
First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase punch out
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.
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
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.
