shellacking

1 of 2

noun

shel·​lack·​ing shə-ˈla-kiŋ 

: a decisive defeat : drubbing

shellacking

2 of 2

present participle of shellac entry 2

Synonyms of shellacking

Noun

• defeat
• loss
• beating
• setback

Examples of shellacking in a Sentence

Noun

They took a shellacking in yesterday's game.

suffered a shellacking at the hands of a vastly superior opposition

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Congress’ lame-duck session starts with a bang on Monday, as Senate Republicans debate their future after last week’s shellacking and Democrats face their first vote on a permitting reform bill that is cleaving them. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 9 Nov. 2026

The Dems’ midterm shellacking was the political equivalent of the Chicago Bears beating the Washington Redskins 73-0 in the 1940 NFL championship game. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

The president touted other construction project as well on the heels of a historical shellacking of his fellow Republicans in the midterm elections. — Spencer Kimball,garrett Downs,dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger,justin Papp, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

In another drastic change, Lake Brantley (5-5), after Friday night’s 56-0 shellacking of Hagerty, moved into the eighth and final 6A Region 1 spot, knocking Hagerty out. — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1931, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shellacking

• attacking
• backpacking
• backtracking
• hijacking
• kayaking
• meatpacking
• ransacking
• repacking
• unpacking
• backing
• blacking
• clacking

Kids Definition

shellacking

noun

shel·​lack·​ing

shə-ˈlak-iŋ

: a lopsided defeat