as in thrashing
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1
as in smacking
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
he clobbered the ball, sending it in a high arc toward the back wall
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin
they clobbered the opposing team
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Recent Examples of clobbering
Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
No doubt there were many reasons the Chiefs woke up the echoes and restored a certain sense of order on Sunday with a 37-20 clobbering of visiting Baltimore, a presumptive rival for the AFC berth in the Super Bowl.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
Every aspect of that towel was on display in a Big Ten showdown-turned-clobbering.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2025
Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Under manager Arrigo Sacchi, a former shoe salesman, AC Milan in 1987-88 won its first Serie A title in nine years and the following year won the European Cup, clobbering Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in the final.
—Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
That sunset that finally shone over Chicago when the winter storm had finally subsided after clobbering the area this weekend is hardly a distant memory, but already, the area is preparing for another round of snow in the afternoon.
—Darius Johnson, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2025
The reason for that suggestion is because of the long history of good individual stocks clobbering the S & P 500 .
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025
K’Lavon Chaisson provided the biggest splash plays by clobbering Rodgers twice and tallying his own run stuff.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Global stocks are clobbering their American cousins this year.
—Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
The Sox finished with four home runs, clobbering the Minnesota Twins 12-3 in front of 11,721 at Target Field.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
Three days after pummeling UCLA, 48-29, on the glass (including 20-5 on offensive boards), the Terps were on the receiving end of a clobbering as USC dominated, 35-24.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
No doubt there were many reasons the Chiefs woke up the echoes and restored a certain sense of order on Sunday with a 37-20 clobbering of visiting Baltimore, a presumptive rival for the AFC berth in the Super Bowl.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
Every aspect of that towel was on display in a Big Ten showdown-turned-clobbering.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2025
Verb
Police arrested one of four snowball bandits caught on camera clobbering the cops with snow.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Under manager Arrigo Sacchi, a former shoe salesman, AC Milan in 1987-88 won its first Serie A title in nine years and the following year won the European Cup, clobbering Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in the final.
—Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
That sunset that finally shone over Chicago when the winter storm had finally subsided after clobbering the area this weekend is hardly a distant memory, but already, the area is preparing for another round of snow in the afternoon.
—Darius Johnson, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2025
The reason for that suggestion is because of the long history of good individual stocks clobbering the S & P 500 .
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025
K’Lavon Chaisson provided the biggest splash plays by clobbering Rodgers twice and tallying his own run stuff.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Global stocks are clobbering their American cousins this year.
—Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
The Sox finished with four home runs, clobbering the Minnesota Twins 12-3 in front of 11,721 at Target Field.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clobbering
Noun
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The first was at Wolverhampton Wanderers, then the second was in the closing stages of the thrashing of Crystal Palace at Elland Road.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Stevenson played his best game in the Pats’ regular-season finale, a 38-10 thrashing of Miami.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Shepard attached the head of a 6-iron golf club to his sample collecting tool and was recorded smacking a couple golf balls across the lunar landscape.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
In his defense, Barnett took the stand to say there was no murder plot and that Thomas extorted him for the money using physical violence – knocking out his teeth, injured his left shoulder, and smacking his private parts.—
Sydney Pereira,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Taylor also weighed in on keeping her cool on stage when things go wrong, such as embracing her wig flying off and whipping it around her head, the proper form for double-dutching and having patience in Hollywood.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
26 Feb. 2026
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Baupost Group’s Seth Klarman picked up Amazon in the fourth quarter, a bet that has yet to work out for the value investor this year as tech stocks take a hammering.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
17 Feb. 2026
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At Anitra Coulter Blunt's Cedar Park home, the hammering and sawing is music to this musician's ears.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Iran has repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets in the war, despite its drone and missile fire hitting those sites.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
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At the same time, Anderson recruited Burkle as the heavy hitting investor behind a counteroffer to keep the team in Sacramento that ultimately fell through after Burkle pulled out.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Whether a brave, thrilling but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at overcoming a seemingly impossible target of 254 to beat India and reach the T20 World Cup final will be enough to make up for England’s desperately disappointing winter.—
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
His big struggle was overcoming the same challenge most pitchers face after a long layoff.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Powell, known for a cool head and a quiet demeanor, has consistently avoided direct confrontations with Trump, even as the president's personal displeasure with the Fed chair escalated from behind the scenes pressure to public bashing.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His home run in the first got the night started for A&M, who followed it up with another run in the fourth thanks to Terrence Kiel II slapping a single past the second baseman, driving home outfield Caden Sorrell, pushing the Aggies' lead to 2-0.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
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But then, during the challenge, when Ozzy knocks the key off a post, Coach weasels in and grabs it even after Ozzy has been slapping his limp pole at it for the better part of an hour.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clobbering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clobbering. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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