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
But Bieber buckled down and got two outs before striking out Christian Bethancourt, the right-hander’s third punch-out to end an inning.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
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
The most glaring example came against the Cardinals in early May, when he threw six shutout innings without recording a punch out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
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
“It’s not like cops can punch out and say ‘I’m done for the day,’” Piquero said.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2023
Every time she whimpered, Z looked as if he wanted to punch out a window.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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
Aaron Nola got pulled after striking out Manny Machado, one of his six punch-outs in the game.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 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
“I’ll never forget walking out of a triple-A clubhouse after an 0-for-4 with three punch-outs, maybe two wild pitches, a tough loss,” Ellis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2016
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.
