thrashing

noun

thrash·​ing ˈthra-shiŋ 

plural thrashings

1

: a severe beating or flogging

If a poacher was taken he was given a thrashing as well as being prosecuted with its consequent jail sentence.

—W. Mostyn Thomas

"They called her a little blue ragamuffin, father," said Harry, who ran in looking very angry. "But I have given it to them. They won't insult my sister again. I have given them a thrashing they will remember."

—Anna Sewell

2

: a dominating defeat of an opponent

… after going 6-5 on a tough road trip that concluded with 9-2 and 12-4 thrashings of the Giants last weekend, they were 57-41 …

—Phil Taylor

Examples of thrashing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jonathan David had a hat trick in last Thursday’s 6-0 thrashing of Qatar. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 24 June 2026

The combination of challenges led to a thrashing for his Labour Party in local elections this spring and calls to step down that cleared a path for a would-be challenger to step forward and ultimately force him aside Monday. — ABC News, 23 June 2026

Canada’s 6-0 thrashing of Qatar in its second FIFA World Cup match would’ve been perfect on Thursday afternoon if not for an injury to Ismaël Koné that can only be described as horrifying. — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026

Despite Norway being eliminated after the group stage, Haaland was the tournament’s top scorer – with all nine of his goals coming in a 12-0 thrashing of Honduras. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 16 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thrashing

• ashing
• bashing
• caching
• cashing
• clashing
• crashing
• dashing
• flashing
• gnashing
• hashing
• lashing
• mashing