These nouns denote various ways of hitting with the hand. Blow is the inclusive term. In a generic sense, it may be applied to any forceful impact of a hand, implement, or weapon against another object: a blow with the flat of the hand; a hammer blow ; a blow with a blunt object. In specific comparison with the other words, a blow is a forceful hit with the fist: The fighter felled his opponent with a mighty blow . Punch is a more informal word than blow ; and, unlike blow , it is limited in application. A punch is a quick, short blow or jab with the fist, typically aimed at a particular target: a punch in the eye. Punch is a boxing term: to throw a punch ; to land a punch ; to roll with a punch . A boxer dazed by repeated blows to the head is referred to as punch-drunk . Outside the ring, punch often suggests a belligerent attitude, the desire to pick a fight: I’m going to give you a punch in the nose.

A slap is a sharp blow delivered with the open hand or with something flat. A slap in the face stings or smarts and is often intended to be a rebuke; Her date started to get fresh and she gave him a slap . In earlier days, a slap on the cheek with a glove was a calculated insult whereby one man challenged another to a duel. But a slap in the face may be given to shock someone out of hysteria. And a slap on the back is a hearty, friendly, man-to-man form of greeting or congratulations.

Cuff once could mean a blow with the fist, a usage that survives in the word fisticuffs; but now a cuff is usually a sidelong blow with the open hand or a cushioned slap with a paw: The mother cat gave her kitten a cuff . A box may be struck with the palm or fist, but where cuff stresses the type of blow , box emphasizes the part of the body that is hit ?the ear, cheek or side of the head. Both box and cuff are specifically applied to a slap on the ear, a punishment that was part of the schoolhouse discipline of an earlier era: to give an unruly boy a cuff (or a box ) on the ear.

A rap is a sharp, quick blow and a knock is a harder, heavier one. Both may be made with the knuckles, and both make sounds that signal a person’s presence: an insistent knock at the door; a light rap on the window pane. But a rap may also be administered with an implement as a mild form of punishment, and in this case the knuckles may receive the blow rather than striking it: The teacher gave him a rap on the knuckles with her ruler. Figuratively, to take the rap is to accept punishment for some failure or misdeed. Knock as a noun suggests the physical punishment of a fight only in a figurative sense: the school of hard knocks . In a similar way, to take the knock is to be hard hit or responsible financially. Blow , punch , and slap are also used figuratively. A slap in the face is an insult, rebuke or slur. An editorial with punch has vitality and force. A blow is a calamity that hits the emotions with a sudden, forceful impact: His tragic death was a blow from which she never fully recovered.