thrash

1 of 2

verb

ˈthrash 

thrashed; thrashing; thrashes

transitive verb

1

a

: to beat soundly with or as if with a stick or whip : flog

b

: to defeat decisively or severely

thrashed the visiting team

2

: to swing, beat, or strike in the manner of a rapidly moving flail

thrashing his arms

3

a

: to go over again and again

thrash the matter over inconclusively

b

: to hammer out : forge

thrash out a plan

4

: to separate the seeds of from the husks and straw by beating : thresh sense 1

intransitive verb

1

: to move or stir about violently : toss about

thrash in bed with a fever

2

: to deal blows or strokes like one using a flail or whip

3

: thresh sense 1

thrash

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act of thrashing

2

: rock music (such as heavy metal or punk rock) that is extremely fast and loud

Synonyms of thrash

Verb

• bury
• whip
• beat
• overcome
• throw
• bomb
• upset
• smother
• rout
• annihilate
• master
• flatten
• dust
• clobber
• blow away
• trounce
• trim
• cream
• smoke
• skin
• drub
• overwhelm
• take

Choose the Right Synonym for thrash

swing, wave, flourish, brandish, thrash mean to wield or cause to move to and fro or up and down.

swing implies regular or uniform movement.

swing the rope back and forth

wave usually implies smooth or continuous motion.

waving the flag

flourish suggests vigorous, ostentatious, graceful movement.

flourished the winning lottery ticket

brandish implies threatening or menacing motion.

brandishing a knife

thrash suggests vigorous, abrupt, violent movement.

an infant thrashing his arms about

Examples of thrash in a Sentence

Verb

He thrashed me with his belt.

The team thrashed them last week.

Something was thrashing wildly in the water.

She thrashed around in her sleep.

Noun

The shark swam away with a thrash of its tail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Sharks were hoping to bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the season, a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 6 Dec. 2025

The 16-year-old flails her arms, thrashes and kicks — sometimes for hours. —Calmatters, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025

Noun

Black radio stations in the States ignored him, but Guy became a hero for a crop of young, blues-loving British musicians, enraptured with his combination of thrash, distortion, and stage presence. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2025

The run marks the thrash-metal veterans’ first Australian headline tour since 2019, extending a global touring period that has seen the band revisit material spanning more than four decades. —Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 25 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of thresh

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3

Noun

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing thrash

• thrash out

Rhymes for thrash

• ash
• bash
• brash
• cache
• cash
• clash
• crash
• dash
• flash
• gash
• hash
• lash

Kids Definition

thrash

verb

ˈthrash

1

: thresh sense 1

2

a

: to strike forcefully especially with a long instrument (as a whip) : flog

b

: to defeat decisively or severely

thrashed the visiting team

3

: to move or stir about violently

something was thrashing wildly in the water

4

: to go over again and again

thrash the matter over

thrash out a plan