puncture 1 of 2

noun

ˈpəŋk-chər How to pronounce puncture (audio)
Definition of puncturenext
as in prick
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument a leak caused by several small punctures in the rubber gasket

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

puncture

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to pierce
to make a hole or series of holes in a nail punctured the tire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stab
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object I could never puncture my own skin with a hypodermic needle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of puncture
Noun
Photos shared by the family show Claire Macdonel's hand covered in cuts and puncture wounds shortly after the bite. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026 Eight hours of stitching to close all the puncture wounds and tears followed. — Todd Orr, Outdoor Life, 30 July 2026
Verb
One appeared to be punctured, while another had been entirely broken from its base, a Sacramento Bee reporter observed Friday. — Haley Parsley august 22, Sacbee.com, 22 Aug. 2026 The barrel had been punctured several times and dumped far offshore, Spencer said, but whoever discarded the remains likely never imagined the reservoir’s shoreline would one day retract hundreds of feet. — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for puncture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puncture
  1. punch
  2. pierce
  3. stab
  4. tear
  5. drill
  6. jab
  7. perforation
  8. poke
Noun
  • The one-two punch not only validates the once-struggling stock's recent resurgence.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Despite its small stature, this mini table's design—with its dramatic sloping base and softened top—packs a punch.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of punch
Verb
  • Her brown leather jacket was pierced with 60 stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed nearly ear to ear.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Claire’s is trying to recapture its glory as the go-to destination for both tween girls and for piercing.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of pierce
Verb
  • She had been beaten and stabbed inside her home, and her body was then placed in the trunk of her car.
    — Brett Barrouquere, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The 33-year-old man accused of killing his mother in their family’s apartment had stabbed his parent repeatedly in the face and chest, Bronx prosecutors said Friday.
    — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stab
Noun
  • Thank you, Tim, for giving the world a little more freedom, a little more fearlessness, and through the tears in our eyes, the courage to BE IT.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
  • More recently, it’s been tied up in lawsuits in Kingston, where the company’s current owner and Gottlieb’s nephew, Neil Bender, has been on an acquisition tear.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of tear
Verb
  • Woodland drilled his second shot on the par-5 18th hole from 279 yards to 9 feet, 4 inches.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Options considered during the analysis included drilling holes in the existing piles and adding more steel inside, or widening the pile caps so more piles could be added on the outside.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of drill
Verb
  • To explain this thinking, Lee jabs the New York Mets amid their disappointing MLB season.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In historical terms, this drought is far from their longest, but no team has won the Premier League more times than them (13), and limbo jabs at a leviathan.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of jab
Noun
  • The marketing speak simply means that the seat cushion features a soft foam layer on top of a firm base, with tiny perforations that let heat escape.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Unlike air fryers, which have a basket with perforations that allows air to circulate around the food, a convection oven usually requires placing your food on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan for cooking.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of perforation
Verb
  • Adults’s Gen-Z characters tend to see their comforts as transient, their identities as mutable, and seriousness as an annoying obligation, all of which the second season pokes at a bit.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Most of what’s actionable comes from the signal that might be poking through.
    — Ben Gretch, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of poke

Browse Nearby Words

punctuating
puncture
punctured
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Puncture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puncture. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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