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

Under Coryell and Bass, the 1982 Chargers reached the Super Bowl tournament but after beating the Steelers in a wild-card game got drubbed by the Dolphins. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Tom Bass, who coached under Coryell and Gillman, dies at 83," 29 July 2019 There’s no doubt that Republicans were drubbed in the House elections, and that the blue wave was powered by Trump’s extreme unpopularity. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "Hillary Clinton’s press secretary on why beating Trump in 2020 is harder than you think," 14 Nov. 2018 Journal Report More in Investing in Funds & ETFs Funds that focus on small-capitalization stocks—which are less exposed to global turmoil, including trade disputes—continue to drub other U.S. categories. — William Power, WSJ, "U.S.-Stock Funds Rose 3.1% in August, Adding To Their Global Lead," 9 Sep. 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 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 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 Villanova's path to the Final Four: Villanova drubbed No. — Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, "Final Four preview: No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas — keys to victory," 25 Mar. 2018 The New York Review of Books, which is famous for drubbing high-profile authors, was particularly harsh on Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson in a review published online on Monday. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Jordan Peterson joins the club of macho writers who have thrown a fit over a bad review.," 20 Mar. 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.