as in defeat
failure to win a contest
took a terrible drubbing in last night's basketball game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pounding
to strike repeatedly
a crowd was drubbing the purse snatcher when the police arrived on the scene
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drubbing
Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026
This time, there was no second-half comeback, as the Current fell to a second straight loss, a 3-0 drubbing.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026
Two of those victories came over Hopkins, including a 35-point drubbing in the section final.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
League-leaders Sporting JAX took it to the hosts in a 4-0 drubbing at the Sunday at the Cotton Bowl.
—José Sánchez Córdova, Dallas Morning News, 22 Mar. 2026
Florida’s performance against Prairie View was the kind of drubbing that defined their last-season surge and eluded them in last year’s national title run.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2026
After a pair of one-run wins to start the series, Texas A&M baseball left no doubt in Sunday's 7-1 drubbing of Penn.
—American Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
South Grand Prairie smothers Richardson to move on South Grand Prairie got 19 points from Janae Johnson to lead the Warriors to a 41-26 drubbing of Richardson in a Class 6A Division I bi-district game on Monday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Feb. 2026
Kaapo Kakko, Mikael Granlund, Sebastian Aho and Joel Kiviranta all found the back of the net twice during the team's drubbing of the host country.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 14 Feb. 2026
Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
Arizona is the early favorite to take the title next Monday night in Indianapolis, listed at 19-10 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by the Wolverines — coming off a 95-62 drubbing of Tennessee on Sunday — at 2-1.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026
This time, there was no second-half comeback, as the Current fell to a second straight loss, a 3-0 drubbing.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026
Two of those victories came over Hopkins, including a 35-point drubbing in the section final.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
League-leaders Sporting JAX took it to the hosts in a 4-0 drubbing at the Sunday at the Cotton Bowl.
—José Sánchez Córdova, Dallas Morning News, 22 Mar. 2026
Florida’s performance against Prairie View was the kind of drubbing that defined their last-season surge and eluded them in last year’s national title run.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2026
After a pair of one-run wins to start the series, Texas A&M baseball left no doubt in Sunday's 7-1 drubbing of Penn.
—American Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
South Grand Prairie smothers Richardson to move on South Grand Prairie got 19 points from Janae Johnson to lead the Warriors to a 41-26 drubbing of Richardson in a Class 6A Division I bi-district game on Monday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Feb. 2026
Kaapo Kakko, Mikael Granlund, Sebastian Aho and Joel Kiviranta all found the back of the net twice during the team's drubbing of the host country.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 14 Feb. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drubbing
Noun
-
This was a better defensive effort for the Stars than their sloppy defeat Tuesday night at home against New Jersey.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Mental mistakes have led to losses, such as SKC’s most recent 4-1 defeat to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That didn’t stop Uthmeier from chest-pounding across social-media platforms.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2026
-
That is when Peralta started pounding the rookie inside.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Like Apollo 13, Artemis II will take advantage of the moon’s and Earth’s gravity, making a figure 8 after whipping around the moon to head home in what’s known as a free-return trajectory requiring little if any fuel.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Like Apollo 13, Artemis II will take advantage of the moon and Earth’s gravity, making a figure eight after whipping around the moon to head home in what’s known as a free-return trajectory requiring little if any fuel.—
Marcia Dunn,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That’s high praise from one who has coached four Hall of Famers and several more who are destined to be so, but this team broke an eight-year championship drought last season and, despite the loss of superstar Paige Bueckers, didn’t skip a beat this year.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
-
But the four losses to egregious tankers were inexcusable.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The spotless streets are polished nightly by the feet of families licking ice cream.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Mar. 2026
-
On April 30, 2025, the dog was reportedly licking its tail and lethargic.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At the same time, Lamont’s idea for a gasoline tax rebate remains in flux as prices have soared due to the war in Iran as the United States and Israel have continued bombing the country in the Middle East.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The Russian tactic is to surround and then choke cities while bombing them to rubble.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Then, to add insult to injury, the Cavaliers carried a 109-87 lead into the fourth when Cleveland’s Evan Mobley ended the third quarter with a successful 32-foot buzzer-beating heave.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Mar. 2026
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He and Flores also are accused of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money or undermined their trafficking operation.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The president of a labor union representing Transportation Security Administration employees is lashing out at lawmakers, telling them not to leave Washington, DC, for Easter recess before passing a deal to pay its agents amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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How this showdown plays out will affect not only Anthropic’s booming business but also the way tech titans and other corporations work with an administration known for lashing out at resisters, said Alan Rozenshtein, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drubbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drubbing. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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