puncture

noun, verb — 5 senses

puncture

noun

UK /ˈpʌŋktʃə/ · US /ˈpʌŋkt͡ʃɚ/

Etymology Borrowed from Late Latin punctūra.

1

The act or an instance of puncturing.

2

A hole, cut, or tear created by a sharp object.

  • There were two small punctures in his arm where the snake's fangs had pierced the skin.
  • The lion may perish by the puncture of an asp.1752 January 22 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 190. Saturday, January 12. 1752.”, in The Rambler, volume VIII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1752, →OCLC, page 44:
3

Specifically A hole in a vehicle's tyre, causing the tyre to deflate.

  • On the way back we got a puncture, and we were stuck at the roadside for three hours until help arrived.
  • Dieter's car had suffered a puncture on the RN3 road between Paris and Meaux. A bent nail was stuck in the tire.2001, Ken Follett, Jackdaws, Dutton, →ISBN, page 340:
1 more example
  • A tough test for even the strongest climber, it was new to the Tour de France this year, but its debut will be remembered for the wrong reasons after one of those spectators scattered carpet tacks on the road and induced around 30 punctures among the group of riders including Bradley Wiggins, the Tour's overall leader, and his chief rivals.2012 July 15, Richard Williams, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track, Guardian Unlimited:
Derived terms
32 termsacupuncture, antipuncture, apipuncture, aquapuncture, arteriopuncture, cardiopuncture, colorpuncture, counterpuncture, cryopuncture, electropuncture, encephalopuncture, galvanopuncture, ignipuncture, laserpuncture, lumbar puncture, macropuncture, mesopuncture, micropuncture, multipuncture, pharmacopuncture, postpuncture, puncturable, puncturation, punctureless, punctureproof, puncture vine, puncture-wallah, renipuncture, repuncture, sonopuncture, vacupuncture, venipuncture

puncture

verb

Etymology Borrowed from Late Latin punctūra.

1

To pierce; to break through; to tear a hole.

  • The needle punctured the balloon instantly.
  • The couple all bloody / Tongues punctured by each other's teeth / Died and didn't let go2013, clipping., “story”, in midcity:
2

To destroy the vitality or strength of.

  • The woebegone children have their aspirations slowly snuffed. Grace’s artistic dreams (of animation, of course) are punctured by her isolated existence; Gilbert’s pyrophilia is smothered by religious extremism.2024 October 23, Jacob Oller, “Clay weepy Memoir Of A Snail crawls through a gauntlet of misery”, in AV Club:
Derived terms
puncturer, punctured interval, punctured neighborhood

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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