pull one's punches

A form of pull punches — To avoid using a high level of force when punching.

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Meanings

verbpull one's punches (third-person singular simple present pulls one's punches, present participle pulling one's punches, simple past and past participle pulled one's punches)

present singular third person pulls one's punches · participle present pulling one's punches · participle past pulled one's punches · past pulled one's punches

  1. alternativeidiomaticAlternative form of pull punches.

    Eleanor and I tolerated each other most of the time, but she never pulled her punches

    2016, Liz Nugent, Lying In Wait, →ISBN, page 84
Cite this entry
APA

pull one's punches. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20punches

MLA

“pull one's punches.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20punches. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull one's punches,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20punches.

Source: pull one's punches on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.