as in hitting
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
sick of being insulted, he swung around and clocked his tormentor hard enough to knock him off his bar stool
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Recent Examples of clocking
What scene led to Kathryn clocking Samara by mistake?
—
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
From the airport to Epcot, my mom wore the lightweight Brooks Glycerin for five days straight, clocking a total of 109,050 steps.
—Irene Richardson, InStyle, 11 Mar. 2026
The 577-foot deck was held in place by 16 chain cables, each 1,714 feet long and made from 935 wrought iron bars, clocking in at 121 tons each.
—Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Another budget-minded Chromebook at a serious price drop, the IdeaPad Slim 3i is lightweight and features epic battery life, clocking in at over 15 hours.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 5 Mar. 2026
The combined banner will also boast one of the world’s biggest libraries, with Banijay Rights’ 220,000 hours, and All3Media International clocking around 35,000 hours.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
The mesh upper and featherlight outsole make these sneakers super breathable, which helps with clocking thousands of steps in warmer weather.
—Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026
On a recent weekday night, after clocking out of their day jobs, players huddled inside The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in suburban Rosemont and officially started their season.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
The world’s most valuable company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell Wednesday stateside, clocking 75% revenue growth in its core data center business.
—Nur Hikmah Md Ali, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
From the airport to Epcot, my mom wore the lightweight Brooks Glycerin for five days straight, clocking a total of 109,050 steps.
—Irene Richardson, InStyle, 11 Mar. 2026
The 577-foot deck was held in place by 16 chain cables, each 1,714 feet long and made from 935 wrought iron bars, clocking in at 121 tons each.
—Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Another budget-minded Chromebook at a serious price drop, the IdeaPad Slim 3i is lightweight and features epic battery life, clocking in at over 15 hours.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 5 Mar. 2026
The combined banner will also boast one of the world’s biggest libraries, with Banijay Rights’ 220,000 hours, and All3Media International clocking around 35,000 hours.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
The mesh upper and featherlight outsole make these sneakers super breathable, which helps with clocking thousands of steps in warmer weather.
—Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026
On a recent weekday night, after clocking out of their day jobs, players huddled inside The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in suburban Rosemont and officially started their season.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
The world’s most valuable company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell Wednesday stateside, clocking 75% revenue growth in its core data center business.
—Nur Hikmah Md Ali, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clocking
Verb
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Separately, emergency crews in Oman are battling a fire at fuel storage tanks, after a social media video geolocated by CNN appeared to show an Iranian drone hitting a tank at the port.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
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Another officer returned fire, hitting Rivera twice.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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More teams are punching their tickets to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday as the major conference’s compete for championships.—
Grace Raynor,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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Mater Dei goalkeeper Nate Enriquez made two saves by punching the ball far away from the goal with his fists.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The 13-year-old allegedly punched Hernandez-Lopez multiple times in the face, knocking him unconscious before deputies arrived, the sheriff’s office said.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Monaco, despite being reduced to 10 men in both legs, also came unexpectedly close to knocking them out of the play-offs.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Everyone erupted into cheers, slapping their 14-year-old brother on the back and jostling him playfully.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
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Itoje was sin-binned in the 64th for illegally slapping the ball in a maul and 13 men were playing Italy's 15.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Residents in several neighborhoods have been protesting at night as the capital has been plunged into darkness, banging pots and pans and shouting anti-government slogans.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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Every so often, a shot sailed wide, the puck banging loudly against the glass behind the net.—
Panashe Matemba-Mutasa,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Now, further observations of the aftermath of the mission – which entailed intentionally slamming a vehicle into a space rock – is revealing something unexpected in the binary system of asteroids.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
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All forms of assault, including slamming someone against a wall, stabbing and punching, are not OK.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Her furious attempts to extricate herself from Ramirez ended with her smacking her head on the parking lot asphalt and Ramirez hitting her in the right eye, according to the arrest report.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Surprise, surprise, the drums started pounding for the SOB Act shortly after (though various legislative attempts have floated since Proposition 12 was passed) backed by a Midwestern congresswoman from a Big Pork state.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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The team became the spectacle of Havana, with Maduro’s Gran Stadium filling with the sound of pounding drums and a conga line snaking through the crowd, as baseball felt more like a festival than a game.—
Tyler Carmona,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clocking. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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