trounced; trouncing
Synonyms of trouncenext

transitive verb

: to thrash or punish severely
especially : to defeat decisively
trounced the rival team

Examples of trounce in a Sentence

our candidate trounced her opponent in the election, winning with 76% of the vote
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Carlsbad continued to play like an Open Division quality team on Wednesday night, trouncing host La Jolla Country Day 16-3 to improve to 6-3 on the young season. Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2026 The fan bases for Rocky Mountain Momo and Momo Dumplings showed their support in droves and trounced their respective opponents in the last round, Hop Alley and ChoLon, both by almost 75% of the vote. Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026 Eritrea had trounced Zanzibar to reach the semi-finals of the CECAFA Under-20 Championship — consisting of national teams from east and central African nations — when, amid the celebrations and platitudes from government officials back home, the players made their move. Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026 More importantly, the 10a barely improves on the 9a, and the iPhone 17e trounces them all. Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 13 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for trounce

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trounce was in 1868

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Trounce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trounce. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

trounce

verb
trounced; trouncing
: to thrash or punish severely
especially : to defeat thoroughly

More from Merriam-Webster on trounce

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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