Synonyms of drubbing

drubbing 1 of 2

noun

as in defeat

failure to win a contest

took a terrible drubbing in last night's basketball game

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeat
• loss
• beating
• setback
• rout
• whipping
• shellacking
• trouncing
• overthrow
• trimming
• licking
• plastering
• failure
• collapse
• upset
• debacle
• fiasco
• flop
• lump
• shutout
• washout
• lurch
• whitewash
• nonsuccess
• fizzle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• victory
• success
• triumph
• win
• achievement
• accomplishment
• blowout
• sweep
• landslide
• runaway
• romp
• walkover
• cakewalk
• walkaway

drubbing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drub

1

as in pounding

to strike repeatedly

a crowd was drubbing the purse snatcher when the police arrived on the scene

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pounding
• licking
• lashing
• battering
• whipping
• beating
• hiding
• thumping
• mauling
• pelting
• spanking
• attacking
• knocking
• slapping
• hitting
• pummeling
• doing
• thrashing
• smashing
• slamming
• punching
• batting
• assaulting
• walloping
• hammering
• bludgeoning
• bashing
• whupping
• flogging
• buffeting
• clubbing
• lambasting
• smacking
• storming
• paddling
• whopping
• raiding
• chopping
• slating
• currying
• working over
• slogging
• punching out
• lathering
• boxing
• tanning
• whacking
• switching
• fibbing
• messing (up)
• roughing (up)
• belting
• belaboring
• threshing
• wounding
• whaling
• birching
• swiping
• tromping
• basting
• pommeling
• lacing
• cracking
• thwacking
• swatting
• clobbering
• rushing
• bunging up
• beating up on
• pasting
• descending (on or upon)
• socking
• assailing
• jumping (on)
• besetting
• strapping
• pouncing (on or upon)
• scourging
• cuffing
• caning
• laying on
• clouting
• whomping
• cudgeling
• lacerating
• whamming
• busting
• flagellating
• lamming
• pistol-whipping
• horsewhipping
• leathering
• mangling
• goring
• maiming
• blackjacking
• mutilating
• cowhiding
• rawhiding
• fustigating

2

as in whipping

to defeat by a large margin

we drubbed our traditional football rivals so badly that it was basically no contest

Synonyms & Similar Words

• whipping
• bombing
• overcoming
• shellacking
• thrashing
• upsetting
• burying
• beating
• trouncing
• throwing
• pasting
• routing
• whupping
• dusting
• flattening
• walloping
• whopping
• annihilating
• smothering
• trimming
• blowing away
• mastering
• taking
• waxing
• clobbering
• creaming
• smoking
• overwhelming
• topping
• whomping
• skinning
• skunking
• sweeping
• scoring
• succeeding
• conquering
• surpassing
• exceeding
• dispatching
• crushing
• eating alive
• snowing under
• running circles around
• tromping
• beating the pants off
• wiping the floor with
• destroying
• licking
• capping
• winning (against)
• prevailing (over)
• subduing
• vanquishing
• surmounting
• finishing
• slaughtering
• besting
• subjugating
• triumphing (over)
• overthrowing
• upending
• knocking over
• overpowering
• hurdling
• outdistancing
• eclipsing
• outdoing
• overmatching
• outstripping
• outshining
• knocking off
• bettering
• transcending
• edging (out)
• overtopping
• excelling
• overbearing
• worsting
• flourishing
• sinking
• outfighting
• acing (out)
• pipping
• breaking
• doing in
• nosing out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drubbing

Noun

In a managerial career spanning more than 1,000 games, a drubbing or two is inevitable. — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

There wasn’t mention of the drubbing that the Rams took in its opener against the 49ers, but that was perhaps foreshadowed by McVay during his interview. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2026

And Ponderosa certainly hasn’t forgotten about the 42-7 drubbing that Dakota Ridge dished out last year. — Brent New, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2026

UConn football started the Jason Candle era with a 56-7 drubbing of Lafayette behind QB Kalieb Osborne’s 355 total yards at Rentschler Field on Saturday. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2026

So the Winnebago wasn’t necessary to watch Cal’s 33-7 drubbing of the Bruins at the Rose Bowl in 2023. — Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026

DeBoer briefly regained some goodwill by beating Oklahoma to open the College Football Playoffs after a 28-3 drubbing by Georgia in the SEC Championship. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026

After his drubbing by DeSantis, several Democrats said Jolly was campaigning more effectively. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

The Blaze host Auron MacIntyre likewise opined that all the infighting over burrito pricing is a symptom of a party bracing for a midterm drubbing and pre-emptively looking for something to pin it on. — Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Verb

The mighty Mariners, who mashed five solo home runs at raucous T-Mobile Park, clinched their title by drubbing Major League Baseball’s doormat, aka the Colorado Rockies, 9-2. — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025