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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
The storied eatery amassed a whopping 1,512 votes in round two, clobbering Northside Social.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 23 Mar. 2026
The answer is clobbering the Broncos over the head, like, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars did last winter.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
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
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
The Chicago White Sox first baseman had a heck of a return to the area on Monday, clobbering a grand slam as part of an evening that included two hits and six RBIs.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
The storied eatery amassed a whopping 1,512 votes in round two, clobbering Northside Social.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 23 Mar. 2026
The answer is clobbering the Broncos over the head, like, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars did last winter.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clobbering
Noun
-
His only Champions League goal arrived in January’s 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag, and his only assists in the competition came in similarly comfortable wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Wild video captured the moment a young fisherman plunged into pounding Southern California surf to wrestle a thrashing shark and free it from his fishing line.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
De Kock smashed eight boundaries and seven sixes and Dhir complemented his South African teammate by smacking three fours and three sixes in the century partnership.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Berfield — who played Reese, Dewey's older brother — watches the tween get picked on by a group of bullies before turning and smacking them with his bag.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Quié kept getting up, sitting down, calling out to people in the street, checking on the kitchen, and whipping out his phone to film promotional videos.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
As Aubry points out, Cirie is out there whipping votes and changing almost everyone’s minds.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
An abduction sequence ties the audience’s nerves in knots with cinematographer Isaac Bauman’s athletic tracking shot loping up the stairs to Margot’s apartment accompanied by Gavin Brivik’s pulse-hammering score.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Yes, Super Mario Galaxy Movie will have all the hammering power of Imax and PLF screens.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Giants ace Logan Webb hitting the Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing with a pitch, as well as Rushing’s subsequent hard slide into shortstop Willy Adames, pale in comparison to the clashes between San Francisco and Los Angeles in the past.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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But the big ticket moment comes in the morning, when coffee is delivered to you in bed and the tent canopy is drawn to reveal the sun hitting the looming red rocks of the canyon.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Finally, in overcoming this vexing moment, the two would establish a painterly repartee that altered the trajectory of their own work and, by extension, modern art.—
Susan Tallman,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
But overcoming perceptions that lithium-ion battery technology is inherently dangerous has proven challenging, and developers sometimes fuel mistrust by dismissing residents’ concerns about fire, toxic threats and the industrialization of natural landscapes.—
Bloomberg,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The target of our petty president’s latest bashing is Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, who seems to be a guy with Midwestern common sense.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Which seems like the anxiety Chalamet was trying to express with his needless opera bashing.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But there’s more to at-home extensions than slapping them on the crown of your head and heading out the door.—
Hunter Lacey,
Allure,
9 Apr. 2026
-
That means going beyond slapping a flag on packaging in November.—
Peter Su,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clobbering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clobbering. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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