punch above one's weight
UK/pʌntʃ əˈbʌv wʌnz weɪt/
punch above one's weight verb: to (attempt to) achieve or perform at a higher level than would be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
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Verb
punch above one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches above one's weight, present participle punching above one's weight, simple past and past participle punched above one's weight)
- To (attempt to) achieve or perform at a higher level than would be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
- Ireland's current commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, is such a high-profile and outspoken figure who punches above his weight in Brussels in the important role of internal market commissioner.2008 December 11, David Charter, “Ireland takes a gamble on new Lisbon vote”, in The Times, London, retrieved 23 Dec 2009
- Having spent more than £500,000 on players last summer, Crawley can hardly be classed as minnows but they have still punched way above their weight and this kind of performance means no-one will relish pulling them out of the hat in Sunday's draw.2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Torquay 0 – 1 Crawley Town”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 14 Jan 2016
- Synonyms:
- overachieve
Synonyms of punch above one's weight
Antonyms
Forms of punch above one's weight
| third-person singular present | punches above one's weight |
|---|---|
| present participle | punching above one's weight |
| past participle | punched above one's weight |
| past | punched above one's weight |
| alternative form | punch above one's weight class |
| alternative form | hit above one's weight |
Origin of punch above one's weight
An allusion to a boxer who punches more powerfully than other boxers in the same weight class.
Questions about punch above one's weight
- What does punch above one's weight mean?
- Punch above one's weight means to (attempt to) achieve or perform at a higher level than would be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
- What part of speech is punch above one's weight?
- Punch above one's weight is a verb.
- How do you pronounce punch above one's weight?
- Punch above one's weight is pronounced /pʌntʃ əˈbʌv wʌnz weɪt/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of punch above one's weight?
- The past tense of punch above one's weight is punched above one's weight.
Words near punch above one's weight in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: punch above one's weight (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-punch above one's weight.ogg.
Cite this entry: “punch above one's weight.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/punch_above_one%27s_weight. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.