Definition of LAMBAST

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The origins of lambaste are somewhat uncertain, but the word was most likely formed by combining the verbs lam and baste, both of which mean "to beat severely." (Incidentally, lambaste can also be spelled lambast, despite the modern spelling of the verb baste.) Some other synonyms of lambaste include pummel, thrash, and pound. Pummel suggests beating with one's fists ("the bully pummeled the smaller child until teachers intervened"). Pound also suggests heavy blows, though perhaps not quite so much as pummel, and may imply a continuous rain of blows ("she pounded on the door"). Thrash means to strike repeatedly and thoroughly as if with a whip ("the boxer thrashed his opponent").

Examples of lambaste in a Sentence

The coach lambasted the team for its poor play. They wrote several letters lambasting the new law.

Recent Examples on the Web While neither Republican has taken questions recently from reporters, both have used short remarks at rallies to lambaste the Democrats, while saying little about their own priorities in the Senate. — David Weigel, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump’s refusal to concede creates tricky messaging issue for Georgia Republicans," 15 Nov. 2020 At Phipp's confirmation hearing, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse mocked Harris's questions by pretending to lambaste Phipps for his religious beliefs. — Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, "Trump's updated Supreme Court list focuses heavily on religious liberty and abortion," 10 Sep. 2020 Meanwhile, Trump has continued to lambaste Omar, who came to the U.S. as a child after fleeing Somalia’s civil war. — Jessie Van Berkel, Star Tribune, "Rep. Ilhan Omar looks to ride her national profile to another term in Congress," 3 Nov. 2020 Vice President Mike Pence at a Wednesday event in Florida used President Trump’s record on religious liberty to lambaste Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. — Washington Examiner, "Pence lambastes Biden for flipping on the Hyde Amendment and the Little Sisters of the Poor," 5 Aug. 2020 On Tuesday night, as the city’s go team fanned out across 14th Street NW to knock on doors with fireworks safety fliers, an angry resident emerged from his house to lambaste the officers. — Emily Davies, Washington Post, "Unprecedented fireworks boom spreads across D.C. ahead of July 4," 2 July 2020 Since League left the government last summer, 5 Star has continued to govern in partnership with the Democrats—the epitome of the political establishment that the 5 Star used to lambaste. — Giovanni Legorano, WSJ, "Italy’s 5 Star Leader Resigns as Support Sinks," 22 Jan. 2020 If schools are closed and conditions are not sufficiently treacherous, parents lambaste the city for leaving them to deal with child care while the adults still have to show up to their jobs. — Washington Post, "D.C. region schools are ready to call a snow day — they just hope they don’t need to," 2 Dec. 2019 Before social media allowed Swift’s fan to lambaste Caryle online, Radiohead spoke out against Terra Firma’s 2007 purchase of EMI Music and left Parlophone Records to release a string of successful, self- and independently-released albums. — Glenn Peoples, Billboard, "How Taylor Swift's Outrage at Private Equity Could Shape Future Deals," 14 Jan. 2020

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