Punched man going round bulge (7)
I believe the answer is:
thumped
'punched' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'man going round bulge' is the wordplay.
'man' becomes 'ted' (Ted is a man's name).
'going round' indicates putting letters inside (some letters go around others).
'bulge' becomes 'hump' (synonyms).
'ted' placed around 'hump' is 'THUMPED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for thumped that I've seen before include "Struck hard" , "Hit hard with fist or heavy instrument" .)