Definition of flail
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a hand threshing implement consisting of a wooden handle at the end of which a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to swing freely
flail
verb
flailed; flailing; flails
Definition of flail (Entry 2 of 2)
1a
: to strike with or as if with a flail
The bird's wings flailed 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 flail
: to move, swing, or beat like a flail
arms flailing in the water
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for flail
The first known use of flail was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century