a sudden surprise punch, esp from behind
a sudden unexpected defeat or setback
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Palace had barely stopped celebrating beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley when they were hit with a devastating sucker-punch.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
A movie that often feels dangerously out of control even as it knows exactly what it’s doing, “Bottoms” is an outrageous queer teen comedy that could hit summer audiences like a sucker-punch surprise.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2023
The sucker-punch ending is a head-scratcher and nearly ruins the previous 75 minutes of suspense, so much so that the European ending of the film was changed to make for a more commercial conclusion.
From Washington Times ● May 4, 2023
Bryan Mbeumo was guilty of wasting the best of Brentford’s chances and the hosts were hit with a sucker-punch late on as Brighton claimed a third win in four matches to open the league.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2021
It is certainly not a bad song, but the sucker-punch power of earlier singles such as Love Story is noticeably absent.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 26, 2019
The Three Lions were five minutes from a first final appearance in 60 years, until the defending champions produced a two-goal sucker punch to rescue a 2-1 win.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Far too open at the back throughout the game, City were caught by a sucker punch in the 22nd minute.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
Just as against Liverpool in August and Arsenal in September, Newcastle conceded a stoppage-time sucker punch against a member of the established order at home.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
From the doom of a World Series Game 7 sucker punch, two outs from defeat, the Dodgers roared back to steal an 11-inning victory for their second consecutive World Series title.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2025
His confession clobbered me like a sucker punch.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
