Definition of DRUB

Did You Know?

Sportswriters often use drub, but the term's history reveals that it wasn't always a sporting word. When drub was first used in English, it referred to a method of punishment that involved beating the soles of a culprit's feet with a stick or cudgel. The term was apparently brought to England in the 17th century by travelers who reported observing the punitive practice in Asia. Etymologists are uncertain of the ultimate origin of drub, but some have speculated that it may have evolved from the Arabic word daraba, meaning "to beat."

Examples of drub in a Sentence

a crowd was drubbing the purse snatcher when the police arrived on the scene we drubbed our traditional football rivals so badly that it was basically no contest

Recent Examples on the Web

The last time the two countries met in a competitive match, Spain drubbed Russia 3 to 0. — Anatoly Kurmanaev, WSJ, "Moscow Celebrates After Surprise World Cup Win," 1 July 2018 Justin would drub his opponents by day and ask them to join his family for dinner that night. — Michael Rosenberg, SI.com, "Friends With MJ, Coached by Dad: World No. 1 Justin Thomas Is Ready to Fly," 5 June 2018 East, the Cook Inlet Conference champion and the runnerup to South in each of the last two state tournaments, emerged undefeated in pool play by drubbing West Valley 10-1. — Anchorage Daily News, "Defending champ South stumbles at state softball tourney," 1 June 2018 The move came hours after the Rangers were drubbed, 5-0, in Philadelphia and finished last in the Metropolitan Division at 34-39-9, their worst season since 2004. — Allan Kreda, New York Times, "With Alain Vigneault Out, Rangers Have Yet Another Position to Fill," 8 Apr. 2018 SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down a pair of Game 2s that saw the Cavaliers drub the Raptors and the Celtics stage a huge rally to beat the 76ers. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "LeBron James on J.R. Smith's golfing: 27 holes is 'too much' before a playoff game," 5 May 2018 The 2011 Yankees drubbed him for eight runs and eight hits during Duffy’s rookie campaign. — Maria Torres, kansascity, "In loss to Indians, Danny Duffy becomes latest Royals veteran pitcher to allow 9 runs | The Kansas City Star," 13 May 2018 After drubbing the Heat 104—91 on the strength of an overwhelming third-quarter run, Philly is off to the second round and waiting on its opponent to show up. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "The Sixers Passed Their First Test With Relative Ease," 24 Apr. 2018 The larger point is Erik Spoelstra rightfully pointing out the Heat are getting drubbed on the boards even without Joel Embiid, who averaged 11 rebounds for sixth in the league this year. — Dave Hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde5: Why Dolphins should (really) want Giants to take a QB," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'drub.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.