Synonyms of lick

lick 1 of 2

noun

1

as in blow

a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument

gave the ball a solid lick with the bat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blow
• slap
• swipe
• thump
• hit
• pound
• knock
• punch
• stroke
• thud
• whack
• poke
• spank
• smack
• bang
• beat
• slam
• clap
• clip
• licking
• kick
• hook
• chop
• swat
• switch
• lash
• crack
• sock
• bat
• smash
• pick
• bop
• stripe
• slug
• pelt
• hack
• belt
• dab
• cuff
• plump
• welt
• box
• pounding
• rap
• buffet
• knee
• biff
• bash
• wham
• thwack
• fillip
• stinger
• bust
• douse
• clout
• wallop
• hand
• swing
• whop
• beating
• left
• haymaker
• larrup
• counter
• right
• shiver
• whip
• body blow
• sucker punch
• whipping
• counterstroke
• hammering
• roundhouse
• thrashing
• one-two
• counterblow
• KO
• uppercut
• battering
• rabbit punch
• pummeling
• counterpunch
• flogging
• knockdown
• knockout
• sidewinder
• drubbing
• pasting
• bastinado
• cruncher
• clobbering
• bludgeoning
• cudgeling
• walloping
• kayo
• right-hander
• lambasting

2

as in shred

a very small amount

the soup needs just a lick more of salt

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shred
• splash
• touch
• sprinkling
• hint
• speck
• glimmer
• bit
• little
• trace
• dab
• smack
• tad
• particle
• spark
• smell
• bite
• handful
• spatter
• pinch
• ounce
• crumb
• streak
• nip
• peanuts
• fleck
• sliver
• drop
• ray
• spot
• dram
• scruple
• scintilla
• mite
• taste
• dash
• shade
• strain
• ace
• minimum
• drop in the bucket
• snap
• suspicion
• smidgen
• portion
• soupçon
• whit
• dose
• nibble
• shadow
• grain
• skosh
• driblet
• jot
• patch
• modicum
• syllable
• molecule
• dot
• semblance
• granule
• mote
• part
• morsel
• atom
• iota
• scrap
• fragment
• tittle
• vestige
• minim
• hoot
• flake
• section
• shiver
• scattering
• smattering
• splinter
• nubbin
• chip
• flyspeck
• shaving
• shard
• smatter
• clipping
• tatter
• smithereens
• paring
• shot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loads
• mess
• pile
• bucket
• peck
• deal
• mountain
• quantity
• plenty
• stack
• barrel
• wealth
• abundance
• lot
• mass
• wad
• bushel
• heaps
• bundle
• fistful
• raft
• volume
• profusion
• reams
• gobs
• lashings
• surplus
• excess
• boatload
• oodles
• scads
• potful
• embarrassment
• passel
• much
• overflow
• slab
• surfeit
• lump
• superfluity
• chunk
• bonanza
• superabundance
• overabundance
• oversupply
• hunk
• overage
• overkill
• overmuch

3

as in damn

the smallest amount or part imaginable

you haven't done a lick of work all day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damn
• whit
• hoot
• shred
• fig
• bit
• jot
• whoop
• little
• touch
• modicum
• syllable
• darn
• squat
• beans
• iota
• rap
• tittle
• hint
• diddly
• ghost
• continental
• diddly-squat
• ounce
• pin
• speck
• bubkes
• doodley-squat
• glimmer
• trace
• particle
• sprinkling
• nip
• dab
• streak
• peanuts
• semblance
• scrap
• crumb
• smidgen
• spot
• ray
• scruple
• mite
• strain
• snap
• ace
• suspicion
• shade
• skosh
• shadow
• driblet

lick

2 of 2

verb

ˈlik 

1

as in to hide

to strike repeatedly

your father will lick you good if he hears you using swear words

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hide
• pound
• whip
• lash
• slap
• beat
• do
• knock
• spank
• hit
• thump
• batter
• pelt
• punch
• smash
• attack
• bat
• slam
• assault
• maul
• chop
• pummel
• smack
• bludgeon
• curry
• punch out
• thrash
• swipe
• flog
• tan
• slate
• paddle
• hammer
• bash
• whup
• lather
• work over
• wound
• drub
• switch
• baste
• box
• whop
• rough (up)
• raid
• club
• whack
• lambaste
• lace
• wallop
• beat up on
• buffet
• belabor
• thresh
• tromp
• belt
• birch
• whale
• crack
• fib
• swat
• mess (up)
• pommel
• slog
• storm
• bung up
• rush
• paste
• lay on
• descend (on or upon)
• jump (on)
• sock
• strap
• clobber
• thwack
• assail
• pounce (on or upon)
• leather
• whomp
• cane
• wham
• cuff
• clout
• cudgel
• flagellate
• horsewhip
• lacerate
• bust
• lam
• beset
• mutilate
• maim
• scourge
• gore
• rawhide
• mangle
• blackjack
• cowhide
• pistol-whip
• fustigate

2

as in to master

to achieve a victory over

he's determined to do everything he can to lick the cancer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• master
• defeat
• overcome
• take
• beat
• get
• stop
• worst
• conquer
• best
• dispatch
• subdue
• surmount
• trim
• win (against)
• get around
• get the better of
• upend
• bury
• skunk
• succeed
• prevail (over)
• overbear
• finish
• overmatch
• triumph (over)
• do down
• sweep
• whip
• crush
• overwhelm
• blow out
• slaughter
• cream
• knock for a loop
• better
• skin
• surpass
• flatten
• annihilate
• trounce
• thrash
• score
• exceed
• blow away
• clobber
• break
• bomb
• drub
• wax
• smoke
• edge (out)
• shellac
• upset
• pip
• excel
• top
• snow under
• cap
• nose out
• wallop
• flourish
• subjugate
• rout
• vanquish
• outdo
• overpower
• overthrow
• knock over
• transcend
• unseat
• outstrip
• outshine
• overtop
• outdistance
• knock off
• eclipse
• ace (out)
• outfight

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lose (to)
• fall
• go down
• give up
• fail
• fold
• go under
• collapse
• wash out
• flunk
• flop

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lick

Noun

Elk, deer, and buffalo had migrated to and from mineral licks throughout North America for millennia. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026

The footage, shared to social media, features Hagen's Shaggy picking up Scooby and getting a few licks on his face. — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026

Verb

Bring along a friend who wouldn’t be able to indulge in these kinds of finger-licking treats otherwise. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 June 2026

The image of the students as vivisectors, committed to extracting the hearts and licking the bones of the transgressors in their midst, seems to mirror her own hatred of the university’s tendency toward frenzied analysis. — Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 17 June 2026