flog

verb

ˈfläg 

flogged; flogging

transitive verb

1

a

: to beat with or as if with a rod or whip

The sailors were flogged for attempting a mutiny.

b

: to criticize harshly

He was flogged in the press for failing to take action.

2

: to force or urge into action : drive

3

a

chiefly British : to sell (something, such as stolen goods) illegally

flogged their employers' petrol to ordinary motorists

—Economist

b

: sell sense 7

traveled by horse, flogging encyclopedias

—Robert Darnton

flogging wares at the local discount outlet

—Ronald Henkoff

c

: to promote aggressively : plug

flying around the world flogging your movies

—Peter Bogdanovich

4

British : steal sense 1

intransitive verb

1

: flap, flutter

sails flogging

2

British : to move along with difficulty : slog

flogger noun

Synonyms

• birch
• cowhide
• flagellate
• flail
• hide
• horsewhip
• lash
• leather
• rawhide
• scourge
• slash
• switch
• tan
• thrash
• whale
• whip

Examples of flog in a Sentence

The sailors were flogged for attempting a mutiny.

a graphic depiction of a sailor being flogged by the captain for disobeying orders

Recent Examples on the Web

Judas, one of the apostles, betrays Jesus and that same night, Jesus is arrested and flogged. —Tribune News Reports, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025

The consumption, possession or sale of alcohol are crimes that can lead to jail sentences, fines or flogging. —Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025

Stop flogging yourself over something that is nobody’s beeswax. —Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025

At the risk of flogging whatever’s left of Secretariat, Clark is the WNBA’s horse whisperer. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

perhaps modification of Latin flagellare to whip — more at flagellate

First Known Use

circa 1676, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing flog

• flog a dead horse

Rhymes for flog

• blog
• bog
• clog
• cog
• dog
• fog
• frog
• grog
• hog
• jog
• log
• og

Kids Definition

flog

verb

ˈfläg 

flogged; flogging

: to beat severely with or as if with a rod or whip

flogger noun