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punch4

Pronunciation: /pʌn(t)ʃ/
Translate punch | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of punch

noun

  • 1 (Punch) a grotesque, hook-nosed humpbacked buffoon, the chief male character of the Punch and Judy puppet show. Punch is the English variant of a stock character derived ultimately from Italian commedia dell’arte. Also called Punchinello.
  • 2 (in full Suffolk punch) a draught horse of a short-legged thickset breed.

Phrases

as pleased (or proud) as Punch

feeling great delight or pride: he was pleased as Punch at the thought of the visit

Origin:

mid 17th century (as a dialect term denoting a short, fat person): abbreviation of Punchinello

punch in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of punch in the US English dictionary