punch below one's weight
punch below one's weight verb: to achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
Verb
punch below one's weight (third-person singular simple present punches below one's weight, present participle punching below one's weight, simple past and past participle punched below one's weight)
- To achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
- But the overall effect is flimsy and insubstantial, a gifted writer punching well below his weight.2001 September 29, “For men who should know better”, in The Telegraph, UK, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2013
- Under the military-backed governments of the past decade Thailand is widely viewed as having punched below its weight in international affairs, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha taking little interest in foreign policy.2023 May 29, Jonathan Head, “Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai election upstart who vows to be different”, in BBC, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2023
- Synonyms:
- underachieve
Synonyms of punch below one's weight
Antonyms
Forms of punch below one's weight
| third-person singular present | punches below one's weight |
|---|---|
| present participle | punching below one's weight |
| past participle | punched below one's weight |
| past | punched below one's weight |
| alternative form | hit below one's weight |
Origin of punch below one's weight
An allusion to the sport of boxing, where contenders fight in various weight classes.
Questions about punch below one's weight
- What does punch below one's weight mean?
- Punch below one's weight means to achieve or perform at a level lower than should be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.
- What part of speech is punch below one's weight?
- Punch below one's weight is a verb.
- What is the past tense of punch below one's weight?
- The past tense of punch below one's weight is punched below one's weight.
Words near punch below one's weight in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: punch below 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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-punch below one's weight.ogg.
Cite this entry: “punch below one's weight.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/punch_below_one%27s_weight. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.