Word.ws English Dictionary

punched below one's weight

punched below one's weight is the simple past and past participle of punch below one's weight.

Meaning of punch below one's weight

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)

  1. (idiomatic) 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
    Synonyms:
    underachieve

Questions about punched below one's weight

What is punched below one's weight the simple past and past participle of?
Punched below one's weight is the simple past and past participle of punch below one's weight.

Words near punched below one's weight in the dictionary

  1. punchdowns
  2. punchdrunk
  3. punched
  4. punched above
  5. punched above one's weight
  6. punched below one's weight
  7. punched card
  8. punched cards
  9. punched down
  10. punched in
  11. punched out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: punched below one's weight (page history and authors); 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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