Main Entry: ²flail

Function: verb

Date: 15th century

transitive verb

1 a : to strike with or as if with a flail <arms flailing the water> b : to move, swing, or beat as if wielding a flail <flailing a club to drive away the insects>
2 : to thresh (grain) with a flailintransitive verb : to move, swing, or beat like a flail