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Synonyms
Examples of shellacking in a Sentence
They took a shellacking in yesterday's game.
suffered a shellacking at the hands of a vastly superior opposition
Recent Examples on the Web
This isn’t the first time the coach busted out his moves — he was seen getting down after the team clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and first-round playoff bye on New Year’s Eve with a shellacking of the Miami Dolphins.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2024
When Jamal Murray banked in a 26-footer to end the first quarter, the Heat looked headed toward a shellacking.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024
Yet this shellacking of the mainstream parties is only a preview of what regional elections in the fall of 2024 will bring in three of Germany’s eastern states: Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2023
The Hawkeyes returned in February 2023, and the Terps again ran them out of the gym with a 96-68 shellacking, holding Clark to 5-for-13 shooting.
—King Jemison, Baltimore Sun, 1 Feb. 2024
At that point, the task was particularly unenviable: American Samoa was winless over its 17-year history, slotted last in FIFA’s 204-team rankings and the victim of the worst loss in international soccer history (a 31-0 shellacking against Australia a decade earlier).
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
The shellacking against Cathedral Catholic was the most lopsided defeat in the storied program’s 75-year history.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023
Colorado is 3-1 with its only loss a 42-6 shellacking against Oregon.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 30 Sep. 2023
Bass isn’t having it, and Judgment at Tokyo adds to the shellacking that the Hirohito myth has already received from Herbert Bix’s Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan and John Dower’s Embracing Defeat.
—Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shellacking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1931, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near shellacking
Cite this Entry
“Shellacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shellacking. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
shellacking
noun
shel·lack·ing
shə-ˈlak-iŋ
: a lopsided defeat
More from Merriam-Webster on shellacking
Nglish: Translation of shellacking for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of shellacking for Arabic Speakers
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