noun
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a penalty or sanction given for any crime or offence
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the act of punishing or state of being punished
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informal rough treatment
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psychol any aversive stimulus administered to an organism as part of training
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of punishment
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English punysshement, from Anglo-French punisement, Old French punissement; equivalent to punish + -ment
Explanation
Punishment is the penalty you have to pay when you're caught doing something bad. A teenager's punishment for missing her curfew might be helping her dad clean the garage. When someone is officially penalized for a mistake or a crime, that's punishment. Stealing a car could result in a punishment involving jail, while pinching your little sister might mean a punishment as mild as sitting in a chair and thinking about ways to be nicer next time. The Latin root of punishment and its related verb, punish, is punire, "punish, correct, take vengeance for, or cause pain for some offense."
Vocabulary lists containing punishment
Psychology
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"Nadia the Willful"
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The House of Hades
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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.
When it comes to prisons, there is very serious harm done by our unquestioned acceptance of carcerality and punishment as the main way of dealing with social transgression.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
Mark Joseph Stern: The Supreme Court held 25 years ago that it is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to execute intellectually disabled people.
From Slate • May 23, 2026
Southampton described the punishment as an "extremely disappointing outcome" but said it was "clear that trust now needs to be rebuilt".
From BBC • May 23, 2026
Russia's foreign ministry said that those responsible would face "face inevitable and severe punishment".
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
“We will convene in twenty-one days, to grant you full-fledged Witch status, or for your punishment, which, according to the Oracle...”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
