Word.ws English Dictionary

pack a punch

pack a punch verb: to be capable of throwing a strong punch.

Verb

pack a punch (third-person singular simple present packs a punch, present participle packing a punch, simple past and past participle packed a punch)

  1. (informal) To be capable of throwing a strong punch.
    • Lord, that boy sure can pack a punch.
    • Memphis Bill was known to pack a punch.1930 June, Victor R. Daly, “Private Walker Goes Patrolling”, in The Crisis, volume 37, number 6, page 199
    Synonyms:
    pack a wallop
  2. (informal) To be capable of having a swift and powerful effect.
    • Lord, that moonshine sure does pack a punch.
    • They go in for statements, slogans, cartoons, pictures, and posters that "pack a punch."1942, Robert Allen Griffin, School of the citizen soldier: adapted from the educational program of the Second Army, Lieutenant General Ben Lear, commanding, D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated...
    Synonyms:
    pack a wallop

Examples of pack a punch in a sentence

  • If gorillas do fight, injuries can be very serious as these animals have long canine teeth and silverbacks pack a punch estimated at eight times stronger than a heavyweight boxer.2009, Mary Fitzpatrick, Lonely Planet East Africa, Lonely Planet, page 77:
  • Each one should pack a punch and be so polished that it will jump off the screen into the minds of the audience and create a funny picture.2003, Ronald A. Berk, Professors are from Mars, students are from Snickers: how to write and deliver humor in the classroom and in...

Synonyms of pack a punch

Forms of pack a punch

third-person singular presentpacks a punch
present participlepacking a punch
past participlepacked a punch
pastpacked a punch

Questions about pack a punch

What does pack a punch mean?
Pack a punch means to be capable of throwing a strong punch.
How do you use pack a punch in a sentence?
If gorillas do fight, injuries can be very serious as these animals have long canine teeth and silverbacks pack a punch estimated at eight times stronger than a heavyweight boxer.
What part of speech is pack a punch?
Pack a punch is a verb.
What is the past tense of pack a punch?
The past tense of pack a punch is packed a punch.

Words near pack a punch in the dictionary

  1. Pacitti
  2. Pacittis
  3. pack
  4. pack a lip
  5. pack a lunch
  6. pack a punch
  7. pack a sad
  8. pack a wallop
  9. pack and play
  10. pack and plays
  11. pack animal

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pack a punch (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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