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\ ˈ(h)wak 
\
\whacked; whacking; whacks
Definition of whack
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : to strike with a smart or resounding blow
whack the ball
b : to cut with or as if with a whack : chop
: to strike a smart or resounding blow
whack
nounDefinition of whack (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : a smart or resounding blow also : the sound of or as if of such a blow
b : a critical attack
4a : an opportunity or attempt to do something
take a whack at it
b : a single action or occasion
borrowed $50 all at one whack
out of whack
1 : out of proper order or shape
threw his knee out of whack
2 : not in accord
feeling out of whack with her contemporaries— S. E. Rubin
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Synonyms for whack
Synonyms: Verb
- bang,
- bash,
- bat,
- belt,
- biff,
- bludgeon,
- bob,
- bonk,
- bop,
- box,
- bust,
- clap,
- clip,
- clobber,
- clock,
- clout,
- crack,
- hammer,
- hit,
- knock,
- nail,
- paste,
- pound,
- punch,
- rap,
- slam,
- slap,
- slog,
- slug,
- smack,
- smite,
- sock,
- strike,
- swat,
- swipe,
- tag,
- thump,
- thwack,
- wallop,
- whale,
- zap
Synonyms: Noun
- assay
- [archaic],
- attempt,
- bash
- [chiefly British],
- bid,
- crack,
- endeavor,
- essay,
- fling,
- go,
- offer,
- pass,
- shot,
- stab,
- trial,
- try,
- whirl
Examples of whack in a Sentence
Verb
She whacked the piñata with a stick.
The old man lifted his cane and whacked the mugger on the head.
They were whacking through the jungle with their machetes.
He got whacked by mobsters. Noun
The pile of books hit the floor with a whack.
took a whack at solving the math problem
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb But as security experts at Amazon.com Inc. and other sites have discovered, battling rogue apps is a lot like playing whack-a-mole.
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Kartikay Mehrotra, Fortune, "Instacart shoppers are battling order-grabbing bots," 1 Aug. 2020 Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and whack it a few times with a rolling pin to start flattening it.
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Washington Post, "Alfajores (Cornstarch Cookies With Dulce de Leche)," 2 July 2020 Meanwhile at still-hands-off-please-stop-asking-us-to-fact-check Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg appears to be spending a lot of time whack-a-moling controversies.
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Allison Morrow, CNN, "What companies need to learn from Black Lives Matter, and 4 other essential business stories," 2 June 2020 Smash the virus: Make a coronavirus piñata, fill it with candy and whack the heck out of it.
16.
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Katia Hetter, CNN, "Summer is not completely canceled. Here are 100 things we can do with or without kids.," 22 May 2020 Howell heightens the activity by whacking the bushes with a boat paddle.
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Don Wirth, Field & Stream, "How to Slam Postspawn Bass with a Buzzbait," 20 May 2020 Giroux committed a slash on Crosby by whacking the stick out of his hands during a puck battle.
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Ed Barkowitz, Philly.com, "Flyers penalize themselves in loss to Penguins in NHL playoffs," 15 Apr. 2018 Then Buttigieg whacked her at the October Democratic debate for not having a plan to pay for Medicare for All.
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John Mccormack, National Review, "Why Elizabeth Warren’s Attack on Bernie Backfired," 4 Feb. 2020 More on McCann: One pitch that didn’t end up a good result was a fastball McCann whacked over the left-center field fence for a home run.
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Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers' top prospect Alex Faedo's first spring training mound experience 'fun'," 20 Feb. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Their two lost draft picks this year and next will hurt, but the draft also is a little out of whack right now with college and high school seasons canceled, while every teams’ ability to scout is diminished.
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Susan Slusser, SFChronicle.com, "A’s Plus: True test coming after Oakland picks up the pace at Seattle," 5 Aug. 2020 His father gave him a whack for taking the jar then whacked him again for lying about it.
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Washington Post, "Deception Week comes to a close with more lies from family members," 5 Aug. 2020 Immune cell levels are out of whack in some patients for weeks or months afterward.
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Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, "Is the coronavirus really worse than the flu? And other frequently asked questions.," 2 Aug. 2020 Capitalist economies get out of whack from time to time.
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David Brooks, Star Tribune, "What Joe Biden can learn from FDR," 31 July 2020 That measure is way out of whack, writes Fortune‘s Shawn Tully, and that doesn’t bode well for investors.
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Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "Global markets sink as investors brace for a GDP report that could be downright brutal," 30 July 2020 If that balance is out of whack, though, Moray says something more seriously could be up.
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Maria Del Russo, Woman's Day, "How to Know If You’re In a Toxic Relationship," 2 June 2020 Instead, with his mechanics out of whack, Burrows was tested.
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Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "How Detroit Tigers' Beau Burrows used tech to get back on track: 'I had all the sensors'," 12 July 2020 The agency’s odd but effective employees are thrown out of whack when arrogant National Security Agent Jerry Bernstein (Schwimmer) joins the team.
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Jeanne Jakle, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio actor James Roday returning with new ‘Psych’ movie on NBC’s streaming service Peacock," 8 July 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for whack
whack
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of whack
(Entry 1 of 2)
informal : to hit (someone or something) with great force
US, informal : to reduce (something) by a large amount
US slang : to murder or kill (someone)
whack
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of whack (Entry 2 of 2)
informal
: the act of hitting someone or something with great force
: the sound made when something is hit hard
British : a share or portion of something
See the full definition for whack in the English Language Learners Dictionary
whack
verb\ ˈhwak , ˈwak \
, ˈwak \whacked; whacking
Kids Definition of whack
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to hit with a hard noisy blow
The batter whacked the ball.
whack
nounKids Definition of whack (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a hard noisy blow
I gave the ball a whack.
2 : the sound of a hard noisy blow
out of whack
: not in good working order or shape
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Comments on whack
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Time Traveler for whack
The first known use of whack was in 1719
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