Word.ws English Dictionary

punching below one's weight

punching below one's weight is the present participle and gerund 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 punching below one's weight

What is punching below one's weight the present participle and gerund of?
Punching below one's weight is the present participle and gerund of punch below one's weight.

Words near punching below one's weight in the dictionary

  1. punching
  2. punching above
  3. punching above one's weight
  4. punching bag
  5. punching bags
  6. punching below one's weight
  7. punching down
  8. punching in
  9. punching out
  10. punching someone's lights out
  11. punching someone's ticket

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: punching 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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