What does punctured mean?
Punctured describes something that has been pierced or damaged by a small hole. The word is especially familiar in the expression punctured tire, referring to a tire whose air has escaped through a puncture. In medical contexts, punctured lung and punctured eardrum describe injuries caused by a sharp object or by the rupture of an air-containing structure. Punctured can also function as a verb: an object punctures a surface, or a surface is punctured by something sharp. Its clear implication of a sudden breach or physical damage makes it more specific than merely damaged and distinguishes it from punctual, which concerns timeliness rather than holes or injury.
Having a hole or puncture in it, especially as the result of being pierced or damaged.
"The driver changed the punctured tire beside the highway."
Common in combinations such as punctured tire, punctured lung, and punctured eardrum.
To pierce something with a sharp point, or to be pierced or damaged in this way.
"A nail punctured the tire."
The verb is commonly transitive, but it can also occur in passive constructions, as in “The tire was punctured.”
A punctured tire can bring a journey to a sudden stop, while a punctured lung can turn breathing itself into an emergency.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does punctured come from?
The word comes through English puncture, from Latin punctura, a noun meaning a hole or puncture, ultimately derived from pungere, “to prick” or “pierce.” Punctured was formed as the past tense and past participle of puncture and was later established as an adjective. The same Latin root appears in related words including punctual, punctuate, and punctuation.
Related word forms
How punctured is actually used
As an adjective, punctured is commonly used with tires and with medical terms such as lung, eardrum, or spleen. As a verb, it is often transitive, although it can also be used intransitively in passive constructions.
Easily confused with punctured
Punctured means pierced or damaged by a hole, whereas punctual means arriving or doing something exactly on time.