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

Until the team’s glorious display in Munich on May 31, a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan, this club was the Leonardo Di Caprio of European football. —Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 6 July 2025

And yet, Inter Miami’s tournament should not be defined by their thrashing against PSG. —Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

What may have been a hint of panic for the Thunder after Game 1 completely dissipated after a Game 2 thrashing of the Nuggets. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 May 2025

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images Before the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton trails Leclerc by 25 points and is losing the qualifying battle 1-8 in a complete thrashing. —Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

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