punch up
verb/ˌpʌntʃ ˈʌp/
1
To beat (someone) up by punching, to fist-fight.
- He came back all punched up. He got a few stitches — they really punched him up good.
2
Slang To attack, counterattack, or target a group of greater power or status than oneself.
- Her standup act involves a lot of punching up. It's possible to punch down in standup, a little bit here and there, but it's tricky to get right.
3
To make bolder, zestier, or more exciting.
- Near-synonyms: kick up, spice up
- He punched up his sauce with some habaneros. He figured he needed something to punch it up a little.
2 more examples
- To punch up the flavor even more, we looked to an untraditional ingredient: fish sauce.2013, America's Test Kitchen, Comfort Food Makeovers: All Your Favorites Made Lighter:
- Yet AI is becoming the invisible infrastructure of personal communications, too – punching up text messages, birthday cards and obituaries, even though we associate such compositions with “from the heart” authenticity.2025 June 30, Adrienne Matei, “‘Hey man, I’m so sorry for your loss’: should you use AI to text?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
4
Broadcasting, Media, Television To switch (a source) into the main transmission.
- Sound films have to be loaded so that the sound is 5 seconds before the sound drum so a wow does not result when the film is punched up on the air.1970, Larry G. Goodwin, Thomas Koehring, Closed-circuit Television Production Techniques, page 80:
- In this illustrated example, camera 2 is punched up on the program buss and is therefore being sent out directly […]1982, Thomas D. Burrows, Donald N. Wood, Television Production: Disciplines and Techniques, page 132:
- Related terms
- punch-up session