puncture

noun

1. 1

   The act or an instance of puncturing.

2. 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.

3. 3

   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.

   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.

verb

1. 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 go

2. 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.

Forms

plural

punctures

past tense

punctured

past participle

punctured

present participle

puncturing

third person singular

punctures