From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpuncturepunc‧ture1 /ˈpʌŋktʃə $ -ər/ noun [countable] 1 British EnglishHOLE a small hole made accidentally in a tyre SYN flat American English She was cycling home when she had a puncture.slow puncture (=one that lets air out very slowly)► see thesaurus at hole2 HOLEa small hole made by a sharp point, especially in someone’s body puncture wounds
Examples from the Corpus
puncture• He knew how to change the washer on a tap, and make pastry, and mend a bicycle puncture.• Blood was obtained by direct cardiac puncture for cholecystokinin assay.• Deep puncture wounds or animal bites anywhere.• Serial lumbar punctures and steroids are frequently used to reduce the intracranial pressure.• Biasion's puncture cost him two minutes and he ended the day two minutes and six seconds behind Fiorio.• The tyre's gone flat again -- I think we've got a slow puncture.• I could see from the four small puncture marks on Fenella's wrist that she had tried to stroke him during lunch.• I could hear the hissing sound of air escaping from the puncture.• The puncture let air rush in and out, spoiling nature's enclosed vacuum system.slow puncture• I think of it as a sort of leak in my brain, like a slow puncture.puncturepuncture2 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]HOLE if a tyre punctures, or if you puncture it, a small hole appears in it A piece of glass punctured the back tyre.2 [transitive]HOLE to make a small hole in something One bullet punctured his lung. Pressurized container – do not puncture.3 [transitive] to interrupt a period of silence by making a noise There was a stunned silence, punctured by shrill laughter.4 [transitive]DESTROY to suddenly destroy someone’s hopes or beliefs, making them feel unhappy, embarrassed, or confused He wasn’t hurt, but his dignity was punctured.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
puncture• Workers accidentally punctured a natural gas main.• Endoscopic removal should not be attempted as the risk of inadvertently puncturing a package is high.• Their throats had been punctured and their blood drained.• If you say he's a Leo, you really want to try and puncture his dignity a bit.• Sitting Bull, punctured so often in the past, was hit seven times.• Gonick's books puncture the myths about American history.• Who will be brave enough to puncture the Reaganite dream, while blocking the Buchanan nightmare?• Take care not to puncture the uterine wall.• The doctor was worried that the broken rib might puncture the woman's lung.Origin puncture1 (1300-1400) Latin punctura, from pungere; → PUNGENT 