uppercut
Americannoun
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a swinging blow directed upward, as to an adversary's chin.
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Bridge. a play of a higher trump than necessary knowing it can be overtrumped by an opponent but that if overtrumped, one or more trump winners in the hand of one's partner will be established.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to deliver an uppercut.
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Bridge. to make an uppercut.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
uppercutsimple
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uppercutssimple
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have uppercutperfect
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has uppercutperfect
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am uppercuttingprogressive
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are uppercuttingprogressive
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is uppercuttingprogressive
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have been uppercuttingperfect progressive
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has been uppercuttingperfect progressive
Past
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uppercutsimple
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had uppercutperfect
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was uppercuttingprogressive
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were uppercuttingprogressive
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had been uppercuttingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uppercut
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.
See Examples For:
Though the Knicks were repeatedly knocked down through two quarters, they got back up and ultimately delivered a game-winning uppercut on a tip-in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
TKV found success with his left hook and Clarke with his uppercut, but both men soaked up the shots as if they were bouncing off stone.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Finally, on July 18, 2022, the couple sat across from a neurologist who delivered the diagnosis with all the delicacy of an uppercut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2025
India's Yashasvi Jaiswal manages to uppercut a rapid short ball from England's Jofra Archer in "extraordinary" fashion on day one of the fourth Test match at Old Trafford.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, but next second he had been knocked backward into Harry’s lap by a vicious uppercut from another branch.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
It’s no Rumble in the Jungle, but watch out for the uppercuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
One after the other, the girls trained with Ayub, shifting from right to left jabs, hooks and uppercuts at his command.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
Mayor Karen Bass, not known as a public brawler until recently, is ducking punches and throwing her own jabs and uppercuts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025
Mayer connected with a right and left in the fourth, before landed flashy combinations and hurtful uppercuts to dominate the fifth and sixth as world champions Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson watched from ringside.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025
I know—crazy, but I really do swing at the water, jabs, uppercuts, hooks, pretending that the splash is the sweat spraying off somebody.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
For the first four rounds Williams fought with the assurance of a champion, deftly blocking Carter's bullish charges, jabbing and stabbing with lefts, uppercutting swift rights.
From Time Magazine Archive
Instead of irate, uppercutting critics, awaiting him in Washington are a stack of budget bills primped for his pen and a National Turkey urgently seeking presidential pardon.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Round 3, Gavilan opened up with one of his famed flurries, pummeling with lefts, rights and his own uppercutting bolo punch.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
