1
as in whips
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
students at the private school were once routinely birched for violating the rules
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly
always a stern disciplinarian, our father birched anyone who talked back
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birches
Verb
-
Canty is one of the coaches who whips students into shape.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026 -
When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Then, Mitski licks up the blood on the girl’s finger.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
-
After the drill, Ruin rolls onto his back, then licks a reporter's nose.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Every statistic about patient safety hides a human story.—
Joe Kiani,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Produced by Red Planet Pictures, a Fremantle company, the show is set in a leafy London suburb and follows devoted couple Alex and Beth, whose picture-perfect life hides a devastating truth.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Trump lashes out at NATO and the Pope, again.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The brand’s hero reusable Plushy lashes retail for $25 a pair, while the brand’s Control Kits, which include application tools, retail for about $125.—
Noor Lobad,
Footwear News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The proposal slashes funding to the agency’s science program by 46 percent—a cut similar to what had been proposed in the president’s budget request for the current fiscal year.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
9 Apr. 2026
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Through careful tuning of an extended Kalman filter and by taking advantage of bamboo’s natural vibration-damping properties, the system slashes control latency from 15–20 milliseconds down to just 8–10 milliseconds, enhancing responsiveness while keeping flight stable.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Irons pounds the drums like Bam-Bam smashing on two garbage-can lids.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
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Macron said France is expending diplomatic capital to ensure a return to calm and to allow for the Lebanese armed forces to assert themselves as Israel pounds Hezbollah positions.—
Sylvie Corbet,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Just remember to harvest cold-sensitive crops before frost, or move potted plants indoors for the winter.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
25 Apr. 2026
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Trellis vining crops to save space and prevent diseases.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Not so much because Paul puts on-again, off-again partner Dakota Mortensen into a headlock and then pelts him with metal bar stools — sadly, this is a scene that would not be out of place on many reality shows — but because a small child is in the room.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Birches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birches. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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