Synonyms of licking

licking 1 of 2

noun

ˈli-kiŋ 

as in beating

failure to win a contest

our team took a licking last night, but we'll get them next time

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

licking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of lick

1

as in pounding

to strike repeatedly

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

2

as in defeating

to achieve a victory over

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeating
• overcoming
• mastering
• taking
• beating
• getting
• stopping
• conquering
• dispatching
• subduing
• surmounting
• trimming
• winning (against)
• prevailing (over)
• succeeding
• getting around
• upending
• getting the better of
• triumphing (over)
• burying
• besting
• doing down
• overmatching
• finishing
• worsting
• overbearing
• whipping
• crushing
• slaughtering
• sweeping
• skunking
• knocking for a loop
• creaming
• annihilating
• scoring
• thrashing
• flattening
• exceeding
• clobbering
• surpassing
• capping
• topping
• smoking
• blowing out
• skinning
• overwhelming
• edging (out)
• pipping
• breaking
• excelling
• bombing
• trouncing
• blowing away
• upsetting
• waxing
• subjugating
• nosing out
• vanquishing
• routing
• walloping
• shellacking
• drubbing
• flourishing
• transcending
• outdoing
• overthrowing
• knocking over
• overpowering
• unseating
• knocking off
• eclipsing
• outshining
• bettering
• outstripping
• acing (out)
• snowing under
• outdistancing
• overtopping
• outfighting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• losing (to)
• falling
• going down
• giving up
• failing
• collapsing
• folding
• going under
• flopping
• washing out
• flunking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of licking

Noun

Predators respond with head shaking, gaping, drooling, and frantic licking. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 Apr. 2026

Becker advises watching for excessive licking, especially of the paws, drooling, skin irritation, or unusual lethargy. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2026

Verb

Owners should also watch for licking that is sudden, persistent or severe enough to cause hair loss or skin damage. — Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

Photos like the one below show children licking massive ice blocks for a slight reprieve from the summer heat. — Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026