conking

verb

present participle of conk
as in braining

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for conking
  1. stabbing
  2. flailing
  3. whipping
  4. lashing
  5. slashing
  6. switching
  7. sapping
  8. spearing
Verb
  • On April 21, 2023, Garr was walking up Bridge Street in Drexel Hill when police said Weh brutally attacked him, stabbing and slashing the 15-year-old 11 times.
    — Joe Holden, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The 40-foot homemade boat was overloaded with 64 people, who panicked and jumped overboard after De La Rosa began stabbing people, a Homeland Security Investigations criminal complaint states.
    — David Goodhue October 12, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Seventh inning —That was an at-bat from the last season version of Pages, flailing at a pitch way out of the zone.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The second-best moment came in Ireland to start this season, when UNC held on to beat what now looks like a flailing TCU team in a rematch.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • My opponent should be condemning political violence, not whipping it up.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In whipping rain and wind in New Jersey, the New York Giants held on for a 12-7 win in their first game since quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • These are just two of the many scenes of destruction the hurricane has left in Hawaii after lashing the state’s western islands with heavy rain, widespread flooding and tropical-storm-force winds on Monday and Tuesday.
    — Liz Kreutz, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers underscored rising global trade tensions, with several countries, including the US, lashing out at China.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • The city of Hollywood hosted a public meeting to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about Amendment 3, a ballot proposal aimed at drastically slashing property taxes.
    — Ted Scouten, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • McAvoy missed the first six games of the season as punishment for slashing Buffalo’s Zach Benson late in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs last season when the Bruins got eliminated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • Lighting, of course, is all-LED, with the headlights coming with daytime running lights, with the system automatically switching between daylight running and low beam as conditions require.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026
  • When Coppola came to film her daughter (who actually shot at the Palace of Versailles), Sofia remembered the documentarian immediately switching into filmmaker mode.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of switching
Verb
  • Partita takes a poem that vibrates with political energy and domesticates it, sapping this very famous verse of its revolutionary bite.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Stubbornly high inflation has been sapping consumer confidence and pressuring the Fed, which recently raised its benchmark interest rate in an effort to cool prices.
    — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sapping
Verb
  • When staking dahlias in late summer, take care to avoid spearing the tubers.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There are frightening stories of swordfish charging boats, and even spearing their transoms and whacking propellers.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of spearing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

conked (out)
conking
conking (off or out)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Conking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conking. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All