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
Relevance
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
-
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 -
Benbrook whips Diamond Hill-Jarvis Benbrook stayed on pace for a playoff berth in District 8-4A as the Lady Bobcats thumped Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis 55-7.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
That’s why scrolling by date and scrubbing through videos still works — search hides uncertainty, scrolling shows everything.—
Ken Colburn,
AZCentral.com,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The one is Sohni Ammi, her feisty mother-in-law, whose sharp tongue hides a big heart, while the other is Bholi, a quiet and wise neighbor.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
According to Augustinus Bader, apply to brows and lashes morning and night.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
9 Jan. 2026
-
After her mani-pedi was complete, and the beautician had given her a coffee per usual, the pair were going to move on to brows and lashes when the woman asked to use the bathroom.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Orchestrated by a central process orchestration layer such as zenon, this approach accelerates scale-up from lab to full production, slashes changeover time, reduces waste, and breaks vendor lock‑in while protecting existing assets and enabling continuous improvement.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The system slashes both capital expenditure and long-term maintenance costs.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the present, Simon (now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) pounds his car’s steering wheel, driving away from wreckage.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The claw then releases the broken bikes and pounds them down once more for good measure.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Allowing its use on these two common crops will drastically expand how much is applied and increase harm, advocates say.—
Michael Phillis,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Soon, Johor was the world’s top gambier supplier and a major source of pepper—a legacy commemorated in the sultan’s coat of arms, which features both crops.—
Jeff Chu,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The straps are thin but still hold the girls up.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Get a head start on building your outdoor spring and summer wardrobe with these 70 percent-off Chaco Mega Z Cloud Sandals; these amphibious hiking sandals have wide straps to hold your feet in place comfortably, no matter the terrain.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Birches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birches. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
