thrashing

1 of 2

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

thrashing

2 of 2

present participle of thrash entry 1

Examples of thrashing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But without a clear challenger to Thune, who won without opposition, most Republicans opted to vote against a period of purgatory after their electoral thrashing. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2026

The pair weren’t too shocked to see Black thrashing in the stands, but Dion? — Gina Vivinetto, NBC news, 10 Nov. 2026

The Longhorns are coming off two good wins, including a 34-27 victory over Ole Miss and a 31-3 thrashing of MS State, after suffering a pair of losses the weeks before. — Oscar Hartzog, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2026

Manager Adam Hurley, who witnessed the flooding, likened it to a bathtub gradually filling up with water, as opposed to some of the more violent wave thrashings seen in Laguna Beach and Long Beach. — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1799, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thrashing

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