sucker punch

sucker punch noun: an unexpected punch or similar blow, on an opponent who is off guard or not active.

Noun

sucker punch (plural sucker punches)

(also, figuratively) An unexpected punch or similar blow, on an opponent who is off guard or not active.
- Benjamin crossed his right, a short punch traveling less than six inches, as he and Murphy stepped back from the breakaway. Many of the spectators did not see the blow that laid the West Philadelphian low. It was a "sucker punch," as Nick Hayes would have it. Coming out of a clinch, Benjamin took...1919 December 9, Louis H. Jaffe, “Murphy Put Away by Blow on Break”, in Evening Public Ledger, volume VI, number 74, Philadelphia, Pa., archived from the original on 06 Nov 2016, page 19
- The Championship highflyers almost got their reward for a resilient performance on their first visit to the Emirates, surviving a flurry of first-half Arsenal chances before hitting back with a classic sucker punch.2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2015
A disabling punch targeting a place which is not normally acceptable in a "fair fight", such as on the back of the head.

Synonyms:

rabbit punch
An unprovoked or unwarranted blow with the fist.

sucker punch (third-person singular simple present sucker punches, present participle sucker punching, simple past and past participle sucker punched)

(transitive) To deliver an unexpected blow.
- We stared at each other for a moment. Then, without blinking, I sucker punched him as hard as I could. He fell but instantly came back at me, head down like a bull.1996, Larry Flynt, Kenneth Ross, An Unseemly Man, Los Angeles: Dove Books, →ISBN, page 57
- You never say, "I'm gonna fight you, Steve." You just smile and act natural, and then you sucker-punch him.2004, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, spoken by Steve Zissou (Bill Murray)

It was a "sucker punch," as Nick Hayes would have it.1919 December 9, Louis H. Jaffe, “Murphy Put Away by Blow on Break”, in Evening Public Ledger, volume VI, number 74, Philadelphia, Pa....
“I’ve certain never had this happen before – a sucker punch in broad daylight.”2017 January 21, Paul P. Murphy, “White nationalist Richard Spencer punched during interview”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Mar...
If someone is going to attack you, it will happen as you turn a street corner and get sucker punched.2020, Paul Orlousky, Punched, Kicked, Spat On, and Sometimes Thanked, Cleveland: Gray & Company, →ISBN:

Noun
plural	sucker punches
alternative form	sucker-punch
alternative form	suckerpunch
Verb
third-person singular present	sucker punches
present participle	sucker punching
past participle	sucker punched
past	sucker punched

American English, from sucker (“dupe”) + punch.

What does sucker punch mean?: Sucker punch means an unexpected punch or similar blow, on an opponent who is off guard or not active.
How do you use sucker punch in a sentence?: It was a "sucker punch," as Nick Hayes would have it.
What part of speech is sucker punch?: Sucker punch can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of sucker punch?: The plural of sucker punch is sucker punches.

Adapted from Wiktionary: sucker punch (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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-sucker punch.ogg.

Cite this entry: “sucker punch.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sucker_punch. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.