puncture

When you puncture something, you make a hole in it. Stick a pin in a balloon and you'll not only make kids cry, you'll also puncture the balloon.

Use the verb puncture to describe poking a sharp object into something. You can call the hole you've made a puncture as well: get a big enough puncture in your car tire and you'll need to call for help. In Latin, punctus means "to prick or pierce." The hardest thing about puncture is knowing how to spell it — remember that there's a c in the middle, and you'll probably get it right.

Definitions of puncture
  1. verb
    pierce with a pointed object; make a hole into
    “puncture a tire”
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    types:
    scarify
    puncture and scar (the skin), as for purposes or tribal identification or rituals
    type of:
    pierce
    make a hole into
  2. verb
    make by piercing
    “puncture a hole”
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    type of:
    create, make
    make or cause to be or to become
  3. verb
    cause to lose air pressure or collapse by piercing
    “puncture an air balloon”
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    type of:
    decompress, depressurise, depressurize
    decrease the pressure of
  4. verb
    be pierced or punctured
    “The tire punctured”
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    type of:
    break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
    become separated into pieces or fragments
  5. verb
    reduce or lessen the size or importance of
    synonyms: deflate
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    type of:
    deprecate, depreciate, vilipend
    belittle
  6. noun
    the act of puncturing or perforating
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    types:
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    centesis
    (surgery) the act of puncturing a body cavity or organ with a hollow needle in order to draw out fluid
    perforation
    the act of punching a hole (especially a row of holes as for ease of separation)
    prick, pricking
    the act of puncturing with a small point
    venipuncture
    (medicine) puncture of a vein through the skin in order to withdraw blood for analysis or to start an intravenous drip or to inject medication or a radiopaque dye
    abdominocentesis, paracentesis
    centesis of the belly to remove fluid for diagnosis
    amnio, amniocentesis
    (pregnancy) extraction by centesis of amniotic fluid from a pregnant woman (after the 15th week of pregnancy) to aid in the diagnosis of fetal abnormalities
    arthrocentesis
    removal of fluid from a joint by centesis
    celiocentesis
    removal of fluid from the abdomen by centesis
    lumbar puncture, spinal puncture, spinal tap
    removal by centesis of fluid from the subarachnoid space of the lumbar region of the spinal cord for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes
    thoracentesis, thoracocentesis
    removal of fluid from the chest by centesis for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes
    type of:
    activity
    any specific behavior
  7. noun
    a small hole made by a sharp object
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    types:
    pinhole
    a small puncture that might have been made by a pin
    pinprick
    small puncture (as if made by a pin)
    type of:
    hole
    an opening deliberately made in or through something
  8. noun
    loss of air pressure in a tire when a hole is made by some sharp object
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    type of:
    misadventure, mischance, mishap
    an instance of misfortune
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