Word.ws English Dictionary

pulled punches

pulled punches is the simple past and past participle of pull punches.

Meaning of pull punches

Verb

pull punches (third-person singular simple present pulls punches, present participle pulling punches, simple past and past participle pulled punches)

  1. To avoid using a high level of force when punching.
    • Traditionally on Okinawa (if 'traditionally' is the right word to use), protectors had been worn during sparring practise because the trainees believed that, to be effective, one should not train to pull punches.2017, Mark D Bishop, Zen Odyssey, An Okinawan Karate & Martial Arts Journey, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 228
  2. (figuratively) To act with reserve; especially, to word something delicately to avoid giving offense or inciting anger.
    • Near-synonym: mince words

Questions about pulled punches

What is pulled punches the simple past and past participle of?
Pulled punches is the simple past and past participle of pull punches.

Words near pulled punches in the dictionary

  1. pulled out of the bag
  2. pulled out of the fire
  3. pulled out of the hat
  4. pulled over
  5. pulled pork
  6. pulled punches
  7. pulled rank
  8. pulled round
  9. pulled short
  10. pulled short up
  11. pulled someone down a peg

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pulled punches (page history and authors); pull punches (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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