punches

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of punch.

   A flurry of punches drove her opponent back against the ropes.

   The leatherworker arranged her punches by size along the workbench.

   Note

   The -es ending follows the ch at the end of punch and adds a full syllable: punch-es. Only the countable meanings take a plural: blows from a fist, and the tools that pierce, drive or stamp. Punch meaning power or impact is uncountable, so a speech with punch never becomes a speech with punches. The same spelling also serves the present-tense verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of punch.

   The machine punches neat holes through the entire stack of paper at once.

   Whenever he loses his temper, he punches the nearest wall.

   Note

   Every meaning behind this form takes a direct object: someone punches a wall, a ticket, a code into a keypad. It is spelled and sounded like the plural noun, so only its place in the sentence tells them apart. It comes after a singular subject and before what it acts on. Less familiar uses carry the same form, such as herding animals or hitting a ball with less than full force.

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