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.