punishmentpun‧ish‧ment /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/ ●●● W3 noun 
The punishment for treason is death.as a punishment I was sent to bed as a punishment.2[uncountable] informal rough physical treatment: tough plants that can take any amount of punishment → capital punishmentCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesharsh/severe· The court decided the original punishment was too severe.light· The punishment seemed very light.just/fitting (=appropriate and right)· Death would be a just punishment.physical punishment· Children respond more to affection than to physical punishment.corporal punishment (=when someone punishes a child by hitting them)· Corporal punishment is banned in state schools.capital punishment (=death as a punishment for a crime)· The are trying to abolish capital punishment except in cases of terrorism.the maximum punishment· The charge against him carries a maximum punishment of a year in jail.verbsgive somebody a punishment· He deserved the punishment he was given.· The teacher may impose reasonable punishments.hand out punishments (=give people punishments)· The courts are handing out harsher punishments to reckless drivers.impose/mete out a punishment formal (=give someone a punishment)· Life imprisonment should be the maximum punishment meted out by the state.receive a punishment· He received the maximum punishment.escape/avoid punishment· The thieves managed to escape punishment.carry a punishment (=used when saying what the punishment for something is)· The offence carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.inflict a punishment (on somebody) (=punish someone, especially physically)· The abbot could inflict corporal punishment for gross disobedience.phrasesthe punishment should fit the crime (=it should be appropriate)· The public believe that the punishment should fit the crime.THESAURUSpunishment something that is done in order to punish someone, or the act of punishing them: · I don’t think they deserved such a severe punishment.· The usual punishment is life in prison.sentence a punishment given by a judge in a court: · He was given a long prison sentence.· They asked for the maximum sentence.fine an amount of money that you must pay as a punishment: · I got an £80 fine for speeding.· There are heavy fines for drink-driving.penalty a general word for a punishment given to someone who has broken a law, rule, or agreement: · What’s the penalty if you get caught?· He called for stiffer penalties for crimes involving guns.the death penalty (also capital punishment) the system in which people are killed as a punishment for crimes: · If he is found guilty, he faces the death penalty.· A number of states have abolished capital punishment.community service unpaid work helping other people that someone does as punishment for a crime: · He was given a choice between doing 200 hours of community service, or a big fine.corporal punishment the punishment of children by hitting them: · I don’t agree with corporal punishment.· Corporal punishment was abolished in schools in 1987.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Punishments for bad behavior can range from time-outs to withdrawing privileges, such as television
- Corporal punishment was banned in Sweden in 1979.
- In cases of sheep-stealing, the usual punishment was hanging.
- Some people are demanding the return of capital punishment for murder.
- With five children in the house, the furniture has to take a lot of punishment.
- But some are gluttons for punishment.
- But the overall effect was to help the guilty escape punishment.
- He would silence noise by poking his head down the first step and yelling threats of appalling punishment.
- In the meantime, the House ethics committee will be meeting on punishment for Gingrich.
- Now we are overtaken by guilt, and the pain of fear and helplessness is interpreted as punishment for nameless sins.
- Our eagerness for capital punishment echoes the mentality of the old slave code.
- Retributive punishment restores the balance by cancelling out this advantage with a commensurate disadvantage.
- When punishment of children is necessary, it can be based on reciprocity rather than expiation.
THESAURUS
something that is done in order to punish someone, or the act of punishing them: · I don’t think they deserved such a severe punishment.· The usual punishment is life in prison.
a punishment given by a judge in a court: · He was given a long prison sentence.· They asked for the maximum sentence.
an amount of money that you must pay as a punishment: · I got an £80 fine for speeding.· There are heavy fines for drink-driving.
a general word for a punishment given to someone who has broken a law, rule, or agreement: · What’s the penalty if you get caught?· He called for stiffer penalties for crimes involving guns.
(also capital punishment) the system in which people are killed as a punishment for crimes: · If he is found guilty, he faces the death penalty.· A number of states have abolished capital punishment.
unpaid work helping other people that someone does as punishment for a crime: · He was given a choice between doing 200 hours of community service, or a big fine.
the punishment of children by hitting them: · I don’t agree with corporal punishment.· Corporal punishment was abolished in schools in 1987.
Longman Language Activatora punishment something that is done to someone in order to punish them: · In cases of sheep-stealing, the usual punishment was hanging.punishment for: · Punishments for bad behavior can range from time-outs to withdrawing privileges, such as televisioncapital punishment (=the system of punishing people by killing them): · Some people are demanding the return of capital punishment for murder.corporal punishment (=punishing people, especially children, by hitting them): · Corporal punishment was banned in Sweden in 1979.
an amount of money that you are ordered to pay as a punishment: get a fine (=be told to pay a fine): · I got a £100 fine for speeding.fine for (doing) something: · A fine will be imposed for overstaying your visa.· The penalty is a $250 fine for the first offense.a heavy fine (=a large fine): · There are heavy fines for drink-driving.
an official punishment for someone who breaks a law, a rule, or a legal agreement: penalty for: · The penalty for treason was always death.the death penalty (=a law that says you can be killed as a punishment): · Drug smugglers face the death penalty if they are caught.a heavy/severe/stiff penalty: · The contract includes stiff financial penalties for failure to complete the work on time.
a punishment given by a judge in a court: a prison sentence: · He got a 10-year prison sentence.the death sentence (=when someone is punished by being killed): · The victim's family are demanding the death sentence for his attacker.a life sentence (=the punishment of spending the rest of your life in prison): · Berger is serving a life sentence for the murders.a heavy/light sentence (=a long or short time in prison): · Evans was given a light sentence in return for giving information to the police.
formal when someone is severely punished for what they have done: · Employees need to be able to express their feelings without fear of retribution.retribution for: · Some officials felt that the bombings were retribution for the killing of the hijackers.divine retribution (=retribution from God): · The earthquake was seen by some people as divine retribution.
someone who seems to enjoy suffering · He goes swimming in the sea in the middle of winter -- he must be some kind of masochist.
use this humorously about someone who seems to like being put in situations where they will suffer, when it could have been avoided: · Being a glutton for punishment, I agreed to organize yet another children's birthday party.
someone who enjoys suffering because they make other people feel guilty about it, and therefore get sympathy and attention: · Don't be a martyr - ask for help if you need it.play the martyr (=behave like one): · We all like to play the martyr sometimes.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives It is not the job of the police to administer justice; that falls to the courts. His theory met with harsh criticism from colleagues. the harsh measures taken against the protestersCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· The court decided the original punishment was too severe.
· The punishment seemed very light.
(=appropriate and right)· Death would be a just punishment.
· Children respond more to affection than to physical punishment.
(=when someone punishes a child by hitting them)· Corporal punishment is banned in state schools.
(=death as a punishment for a crime)· The are trying to abolish capital punishment except in cases of terrorism.
· The charge against him carries a maximum punishment of a year in jail.
verbs· He deserved the punishment he was given.· The teacher may impose reasonable punishments.
(=give people punishments)· The courts are handing out harsher punishments to reckless drivers.
formal (=give someone a punishment)· Life imprisonment should be the maximum punishment meted out by the state.
· He received the maximum punishment.
· The thieves managed to escape punishment.
(=used when saying what the punishment for something is)· The offence carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
(=punish someone, especially physically)· The abbot could inflict corporal punishment for gross disobedience.
phrases (=it should be appropriate)· The public believe that the punishment should fit the crime.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It is not the job of the police to administer justice; that falls to the courts.· If you commit a crime, you have deserved punishment.
His theory met with harsh criticism from colleagues. the harsh measures taken against the protesters· But capital punishment is not for me in that category: it is not self-evidently harmful, not self-evidently unjust.· The participating States reconfirm their commitments in the Copenhagen and Moscow Documents concerning the question of capital punishment.· Late in life she campaigned against capital punishment, in alliance with William Allen of Guy's Hospital.· Federal appeals judge Alex Kozinski, a Ronald Reagan appointee, recently attacked the legal machinery of capital punishment.· It called for a free vote on marijuana, and also for possible referendums on abortion and the restoration of capital punishment.· You got an answer for this, or are you busy preparing your next rally against capital punishment?· Beccaria's reputation for humanity comes from the famous sections that oppose the use of torture and of capital punishment.· He seems to become especially intense when questioning turns to the issue of capital punishment.
· I there soon experienced my first dealings with corporal punishment.· Moderate Assembly Republicans broke ranks with conservative members to defeat a GOP-sponsored bill that would have returned corporal punishment to the classroom.· For campaigners for the abolition of corporal punishment this will have been a setback.· Cases of corporal punishment shall be reported by each teacher on the dates of their occurrence in writing..· She said inspectors should advise schools using corporal punishment that it was outmoded.· So I became the sole target of corporal punishment.· She waited with her buttocks bared like a naughty girl, while he selected an instrument of corporal punishment.· It was not thought that there was much demand for corporal punishment.
· A huge, cruel, unjustified punishment far in excess of Digby's crime.· Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.· Chapel and Sunday-school were to me cruel ceremonious punishments for the freedom of Monday to Saturday ....
· The law and order lobby, in contrast, focuses on deterring the offender with ever harsher punishments.· Rodman was disciplined for that incident too, which is why Stern nailed him with so harsh a punishment this time.· Instead he was given 11 1 / 2 years -- an extremely harsh punishment for a relatively small, first-time offense.· On the other side, the authorities handed out harsh punishments to anyone even suspected of those acts.· This would be harsh punishment, but fitting.· They criticized the president for punishing both the innocent and the guilty and for exacting such harsh punishment.
· Negative reinforcement does not necessarily mean the threat of physical punishment.· The threat of physical punishment or death was ever present, and it was invoked without hesitation against the recalcitrant and disrespectful.· Over-anxious parents; stressed partners. Physical punishment at home and/or school.· Short prison sentences or a light physical punishment are the norm in most criminal cases.· Make your requirements on such things as physical punishment, sweet eating and so on clear from the outset.· To sum up: The background to physical punishment is what is all-important.· Most physical punishments used by parents are not intended to be, or experienced as, particularly painful.· She has demonstrated a wellknown fact about physical punishment - it can lead to avoidance.
· After childhood there is often nothing left but increasingly severe punishment.· It is clear that younger children believe in the need for severe punishment.· The Brit athletics superstar found Olympic gold in the heptathlon after two days of severe punishment.· Charles resolved upon a severe punishment.· Not all disciplinary abuses in the home are the severe deprivations or punishments that deform the lives of some children.· Amal's brother, fearful of severe punishment for using drugs, did not step forward to clear his sister's name.
· Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
VERB· On the question whether on merits it would be desirable to abolish capital punishment Ministers were divided.· In 1965, Britain abolished capital punishment.
· Major Burrows had dealt with the matter so effectively the father did not need to administer any further punishment.
· She can avoid punishment by appropriate actions.· Most homicides were unplanned, and few brought any benefit to the offender even if he avoided punishment.· The data showed that information specialists' actions were often impelled not simply by material rewards or to avoid punishment.· There are more effective ways of avoiding punishment.· A simple way to avoid punishment is to avoid punishers.
· They had conveniently forgotten to tell me I had to carry out my punishment holding the glass in my left hand.· Criminal cases that carry punishment of a year or less in jail are handled by the Muni Court.
· Sickness may be considered to be a punishment inflicted for neglect of certain taboos.· Her cousins considered the worst possible punishment a day without Margarett Sargent.· The child considers punishment to be the essence of justice.· In civilized cultures, Vegemite is considered capital punishment.· Deborah carefully considered the types of punishments to use.· He felt she might be considering some special punishment for the offense of even knowing Dooley Barlowe.
· There is no objective formula for deciding what tariff of punishment should be attached to a particular offence.· The administration is responsible for deciding the punishment.· You can't be the jury, either, and decide a punishment for them.· However, Wright resigned as speaker and from the House before the committee reached the stage of deciding a punishment.· After ethics committee members question the two sides, they will meet privately to decide on a punishment recommendation.
· She bit her lip and knew that she deserved such punishment.· After the shooting, they became consumed with the idea that a crime had been committed and deserved punishment.· As such they don't deserve punishment, rather understanding and sympathy.· I could not imagine what she had done to deserve such a punishment, but she did not look ashamed or unhappy.· What had she done to deserve such punishment?· Sally-Anne deserved punishment for forcing him to do that, if for nothing else.· And when we fail to live up to our own high expectations, the more we feel we deserve punishment and blame.· If they behave in a manner that deserves punishment, they are punished.
· But if the plea can be supported by a finding of guilt alone, a defendant might escape punishment altogether.· Baker and Darman escaped punishment not only because their leaks seldom injured Bush but also because Bush thought he needed their services.· However, at the same inquiry, trainer Gordon Richards escaped punishment.· She was the only rioter found guilty, but escaped punishment by poisoning herself on the way to jail.· He knew that he and Selborne, as uncapped players, would escape any such punishment.· This enabled the robber to escape punishment because a second trial would have violated his constitutional rights.· Weldon Flaharty, said in a recent interview that he inexplicably escaped administrative punishment, which could have shortened his career.
· A simple majority vote is required to impose the punishment.
· He or she should not receive extra punishment for not being overjoyed at being told off.· Should a corporation receive less proportionate punishment for having contaminated its workers with deadly plutonium?· It is often also the retaliation, not the provocation, that receives the punishment and the attention.· The cornerback actually received the punishment Monday night following a shouting match with Bugel in practice that afternoon.· An offender from outside the House may be summoned to the Bar of the House to receive punishment.
· In all eight players were recommended for punishment by the official investigation led by Judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum.· The committee said it expects to recommend a punishment to the House by Friday, Jan. 17.· Ed Bethune, R-Ark., will each present their recommended punishments.· He was scheduled to give it to the Ethics Committee, which will recommend what punishment the speaker should receive.· The ethics committee is to meet Wednesday to begin the process of recommending a punishment.· The committee is widely expected to recommend punishments light enough to let Gingrich retain the speakership he narrowly won on Tuesday.· Under the old schedule, the committee said it expected to recommend a punishment to the House by next Friday.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► noncustodial sentence/punishment etc
- Being a glutton for punishment, a few days later we rounded it off by doing the Danube Knee bend towards Budapest.
- Steve Jobs is obviously a glutton for punishment.
- Talk about a glutton for punishment.
WORD FAMILYadjectivepunishablepunishingunpunishedpunitivenounpunishmentverbpunish
1[countable, uncountable] something that is done in order to punish someone, or the act of punishing thempunishment for The punishment for treason is death.as a punishment I was sent to bed as a punishment.2[uncountable] informal rough physical treatment: tough plants that can take any amount of punishment → capital punishmentCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesharsh/severe· The court decided the original punishment was too severe.light· The punishment seemed very light.just/fitting (=appropriate and right)· Death would be a just punishment.physical punishment· Children respond more to affection than to physical punishment.corporal punishment (=when someone punishes a child by hitting them)· Corporal punishment is banned in state schools.capital punishment (=death as a punishment for a crime)· The are trying to abolish capital punishment except in cases of terrorism.the maximum punishment· The charge against him carries a maximum punishment of a year in jail.verbsgive somebody a punishment· He deserved the punishment he was given.· The teacher may impose reasonable punishments.hand out punishments (=give people punishments)· The courts are handing out harsher punishments to reckless drivers.impose/mete out a punishment formal (=give someone a punishment)· Life imprisonment should be the maximum punishment meted out by the state.receive a punishment· He received the maximum punishment.escape/avoid punishment· The thieves managed to escape punishment.carry a punishment (=used when saying what the punishment for something is)· The offence carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.inflict a punishment (on somebody) (=punish someone, especially physically)· The abbot could inflict corporal punishment for gross disobedience.phrasesthe punishment should fit the crime (=it should be appropriate)· The public believe that the punishment should fit the crime.THESAURUSpunishment something that is done in order to punish someone, or the act of punishing them: · I don’t think they deserved such a severe punishment.· The usual punishment is life in prison.sentence a punishment given by a judge in a court: · He was given a long prison sentence.· They asked for the maximum sentence.fine an amount of money that you must pay as a punishment: · I got an £80 fine for speeding.· There are heavy fines for drink-driving.penalty a general word for a punishment given to someone who has broken a law, rule, or agreement: · What’s the penalty if you get caught?· He called for stiffer penalties for crimes involving guns.the death penalty (also capital punishment) the system in which people are killed as a punishment for crimes: · If he is found guilty, he faces the death penalty.· A number of states have abolished capital punishment.community service unpaid work helping other people that someone does as punishment for a crime: · He was given a choice between doing 200 hours of community service, or a big fine.corporal punishment the punishment of children by hitting them: · I don’t agree with corporal punishment.· Corporal punishment was abolished in schools in 1987.