What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

What is the difference between fist and punch?

fist | punch |

As verbs the difference between fist and punch

is that fist is to break wind while punch is to strike with one's fist.

As nouns the difference between fist and punch

is that fist is the act of breaking wind; fise while punch is a hit or strike with one's fist.

As an initialism FIST

is future Infantry Soldier Technology.

As a proper noun Punch is

a glove puppet who is the main character used in a Punch and Judy show.

fist

English

(Webster 1913)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) fisten, fiesten, from (etyl) .

Verb

(en verb)
  • To break wind.
    • Derived terms
    * (l)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of breaking wind; fise.
  • A puffball.

    • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) fist, from (etyl) 'five'. More at five.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • hand with the fingers clenched or curled inward
    • The boxer's fists rained down on his opponent in the last round.
  • (printing) the pointing hand symbol
  • (ham radio) the characteristic signaling rhythm of an individual telegraph or CW operator when sending Morse code
  • (slang) a person's characteristic handwriting
  • A group of men.
  • The talons of a bird of prey.
  • * Spenser
    • More light than culver in the falcon's fist .
  • (informal) An attempt at something.
  • * 2005 , Darryl N. Davis, Visions of Mind: Architectures for Cognition and Affect (page 144)
    • With the rise of cognitive neuroscience, the time may be coming when we can make a reasonable fist of mapping down from an understanding of the functional architecture of the mind to the structural architecture of the brain.
    Synonyms
    * bunch of fives * fist-size * ductus
    Derived terms
    * fisty * iron fist * hand over fist * fistful * rule with an iron fist
    Related terms
    * fisticuff * tight-fisted

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To strike with the fist.
    • ...may not score a point with his open hand(s), but may score a point by fisting the ball.'' Damian Cullen. "Running the rule." ''The Irish Times 18 Aug 2003, pg. 52.
  • To close (the hand) into a fist.
  • * 1969 , Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor , Penguin 2011, p. 29:
    • He noticed Ada's trick of hiding her fingernails by fisting her hand or stretching it with the palm turned upward when helping herself to a biscuit.
  • To grip with a fist.
  • * 1851 ,
    • I am an officer; but, how I wish I could fist a bit of old-fashioned beef in the fore-castle, as I used to when I was before the mast.
  • (slang) To fist-fuck.

    • See also

    * knuckle * punch

    Anagrams

    * *

    punch

    English

    (wikipedia punch)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) punchen, partially from (etyl) .

    Noun

  • (countable) A hit or strike with one's fist.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=Chris Bevan , title=Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Another Karadeniz cross led to Cudicini's first save of the night, with the Spurs keeper making up for a weak punch by brilliantly pushing away Christian Noboa's snap-shot.}}
  • (uncountable) Power, strength, energy.
  • (uncountable) Impact.
  • (countable) A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) whose only or main current function is that when it is pressed causes a video game character to punch.
    • Synonyms
    * (A strike with the fist) box, bunch of fives (UK) * oomph, pep
    Hyponyms
    * (A strike with the fist) jab, hook, uppercut, pounding
    Derived terms
    * beat somebody to the punch * kidney punch * one-two punch * pleased as punch * pull punches * punch drunk * roll with the punches * Sunday punch
    See also
    * (A strike with the fist) slap

    Verb

    (es)
  • To strike with one's fist.
    • If she punches me, I'm gonna break her nose.
  • (of cattle) To .
  • To operate (a device or system) by depressing a button, key, bar, or pedal, or by similar means.
  • *
  • * '>citation
  • *
  • To enter (information) on a device or system.
  • To hit (a ball or similar object) with less than full force.
    • He punched a hit into shallow left field.
  • To make holes in something
  • To thrust against; to poke.
    • to punch one with the end of a stick or the elbow
    Synonyms
    * (To strike with the fist) box
    Derived terms
    * punch above one's weight * punch below one's weight

    Etymology 2

    Shortened form of puncheon, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (es)
  • (countable) A device, generally slender and round, used for creating holes in thin material, for driving an object through a hole in a containing object, or to stamp or emboss a mark or design on a surface.
  • (countable) A mechanism for punching holes in paper or other thin material.
  • (countable) A hole or opening created with a punch
  • (piledriving) An extension piece applied to the top of a pile; a dolly.
  • A prop, as for the roof of a mine.
    • See also
    * centrepunch, centre punch * nail punch * three-hole punch

    Verb

  • To employ a punch to create a hole in or stamp or emboss a mark on something.
  • To mark a ticket.
    • Hypernyms
    * (to create a hole) perforate, pierce
    Derived terms
    * punch in * punch out

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

  • (uncountable) A beverage, generally containing a mixture of fruit juice and some other beverage, often alcoholic.

    • See also

    * punch drunk ----