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punch down. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
punch down, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
punch down in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
punch down you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Verb
punch down (third-person singular simple present punches down, present participle punching down, simple past and past participle punched down)
- (intransitive, slang) To attack or target a group that is weaker or of lower status than oneself.
- Antonym: punch up
2021 January 30, Nick Cohen, “Anti-vaxxers posing as victims has a history. Look at Andrew Wakefield”, in The Guardian:The anti-vaxx movement punches down and punches hard. Its leaders tend to be men and women from wealthy backgrounds. […] They draw a large part of their audience from the poor, the poorly educated and ethnic minorities.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see punch, down.
Derived terms