Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The climactic phrase or statement of a joke, producing a sudden humorous effect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The final sentence, phrase, or word in a joke or humorous story that is unexpected and produces the humorous effect; the point of a joke.
  • noun The final sentence, phrase, or word in any narration, speech, or advertisement that produces the speaker's intended effect.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The final part of a joke; the word, sentence, or exchange of sentences that is intended to be funny and provokes laughter from the listeners.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the point of a joke or humorous story

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

punch +‎ line, probably American. It was probably meant to be likened to a quick, sharp punch.

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Examples

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