Meaning & use
gut punch
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablefigurativeinformal
A shocking and upsetting piece of news or event that hits you emotionally.
Grammar: Often used with a: the news was a gut punch.
Patterns
- be a gut punch
- a gut punch to someone
The layoff announcement was a gut punch for the whole team.
Her diagnosis came as a gut punch to the family.
Losing the final in overtime was a real gut punch.
nouncountable
A hard blow with the fist to someone's stomach.
Grammar: Literal use: usually in fights and boxing.
Patterns
- take a gut punch
- land a gut punch
The boxer doubled over after a gut punch.
He took a gut punch and kept fighting.
The movie shows a sudden gut punch in the alley.
verbtransitiveinformal
To hit someone hard in the stomach, or to shock and hurt someone deeply.
Grammar: Takes an object: the news gut-punched everyone.
Patterns
- gut-punch someone
The announcement gut-punched the small town.
The defender gut-punched him during the scuffle.
That ending really gut-punches you.
Word forms
| plural | gut punches |
|---|
Common combinations
- a real gut punch
- The cancellation was a real gut punch to the cast.
- feel like a gut punch
- The text message felt like a gut punch.
- deliver a gut punch
- The documentary delivers a gut punch in its final scene.
- take a gut punch
- The company took a gut punch when its biggest client left.
- emotional gut punch
- The film is an emotional gut punch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blow
- Blow is a more general and slightly more formal word for a shock, while gut punch is more vivid and personal.
- shock
- Shock describes the surprise, but a gut punch also stresses the painful, winded feeling.
- bombshell
- A bombshell is a startling revelation and not necessarily painful, whereas a gut punch is nearly always hurtful.
- kick in the teeth
- A kick in the teeth stresses unfair disappointment, while a gut punch stresses sudden pain.
Opposites
Word family
- gut noun
- the stomach or intestines
- punch noun
- a hit with the fist
- gut-wrenching adjective
- causing deep distress
- gut feeling noun
- an instinct
Commonly confused: gut punch or gut feeling?
gut punch vs gut feeling
A gut feeling is an instinctive belief, while a gut punch is a painful shock.
Practice
Hearing that the factory would close was a ___ for the town.
Choose one answer.
A gut punch is a sudden, painful shock. The other expressions suggest praise, relief or an advantage.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gut punch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.