as in licking
to strike repeatedly
vowed to curry the hide of the person who stole his wallet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of currying
The event was a surreal mashup of soccer and favor-currying.
—
Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Soon, companies learn that success depends less on innovation or competition than on currying political favor.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Soon, companies learn that success depends less on innovation or competition than on currying political favor.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for currying
Verb
-
Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
-
England’s Test team are still licking their wounds after their humbling Down Under.—
Sam Dalling,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Vance often has served as an attack dog for the administration, including lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Oval Office visit.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Chappell took to social media to vent some of her ire, lashing out at the Biden administration.—
Alexandra Rockey Fleming,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The novel is described as a reimagination of Cinderella, with Sophie and Benedict meeting at a masquerade ball, with Sophie hiding her identity because of her role as a maid.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In the late 1700s, when the Spanish built missions nearby at San Juan Bautista, Santa Clara, Carmel and Santa Cruz, natives often fled to avoid cruel conditions, tribal leaders have noted, hiding on Sargent Ranch, in the hills of Pacheco Pass, and other remote locations.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Doncic played a role in both clutch shots, first whipping a one-handed pass behind his back across the court to Gabe Vincent, who shoveled the ball with one hand to Hachimura.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Would the place that had been home for months withstand the whipping winds?—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The producers and the author were doing kind of book events and the lines were like several times around the block.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
On a crowded concourse in the middle of a Saturday morning two months before the start of the season, fans are chugging beers, scarfing Dodger dogs, and even doing a line dance.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Archival footage illustrates, in pulse-pounding and nerve-rattling fashion, just how widespread calls for Rushdie’s murder were.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
-
By Jason Mackey Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PALM BEACH GARDENS — The pop of a catcher’s mitt mixed with saws screeching and hammers pounding provides an appropriate soundtrack inside Paul Skenes’ offseason workout facility, a baseball-lover’s paradise and an encapsulation of his unique personality.—
Tribune News Service,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Santiago de Cuba last October as a Category 3 storm, battering the island with heavy rainfall and strong winds.—
Sophie Brams,
The Hill,
14 Jan. 2026
-
After a harrowing and deadly Christmas Eve in California with rescues and evacuations amid widespread flooding and debris flow threats, another storm is battering the state Christmas Day, with more expected into Friday.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Point Loma Nazarene’s women’s basketball team improved to 14-4 and climbed back on top of the PacWest Conference standings with a 10-2 mark after beating Azusa Pacific (80-55) and contender Vanguard (59-57) last week.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
In the final, Black & Alshon threw down the gauntlet, beating the top pair in three straight for gold.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Currying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/currying. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
