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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pounding
to strike repeatedly
your father will lick you good if he hears you using swear words
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in defeating
to achieve a victory over
he's determined to do everything he can to lick the cancer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of licking
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
Predictably, Korda took a licking.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Then they got knocked to the ice, stomped on and left licking their feathers after the first two periods of their Stanley Cup playoff game with the Vegas Golden Knights.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for licking
Noun
The clacking of mouth-swab petrie dishes as they’re loaded into boxes for shipping, the line-by-line licking of complimentary doughnuts at the front desk.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
Predictably, Korda took a licking.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
Vietnamese-style sweet-and-spicy chicken wings are a hot, finger-licking mess.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Then they got knocked to the ice, stomped on and left licking their feathers after the first two periods of their Stanley Cup playoff game with the Vegas Golden Knights.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for licking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for licking
Noun
-
The beating damaged more than 73,000 homes in North Carolina, including 8,800 confirmed to be either badly harmed or destroyed, according to the Observer’s previous reporting.—
Maveah Griffith,
Charlotte Observer,
10 June 2026
-
Air conditioners run for months on end, hard water wears down plumbing and pool equipment takes a beating.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
When the worker said yes, there followed a cacophony of voices, radios, and pounding boots as police stormed the property.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
One of my favorite side dishes starts by rehydrating them, then pounding them in a mortar and pestle to release all that concentrated flavor.—
Julie Lin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
After defeating the Netherlands, Team Algeria returned home for a short break.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
-
After defeating Chwalinska in straight sets, Andreeva took time at the end of her acceptance speech to speak Russian, seemingly in defiance of the vilification due to her ethnic heritage by the tennis governing bodies and opposing players.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak end in Game 3 and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest halftime lead by a visiting team in the Finals.—
Tim Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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The scars left by this Western Conference Final defeat to the Chicago Wolves in seven games will linger.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Officials found three passengers in the cabin and their suspect hiding in the lavatory, Bali immigration authorities said in a statement.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
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The platforms that win will be the ones enabling accountable data access and transparent decision-making, not those hiding behind complexity.—
Ivan Guzenko,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
The barriers our students face have changed over the years, but our commitment to overcoming them remains the same as always.—
Albert D. Mosley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 June 2026
-
Rather than scaling software, their approach focuses on overcoming physical bottlenecks—verified by the laws of physics—to build the foundational architecture for the broader space economy.—
Alexandra Vidyuk,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The Spurs accrued a 10-point lead at that point, blitzing the Knicks with the type of pressure expected from a team that was a loss away from an offseason filled with sadness.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
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The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Verb
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The Seahawks won those shootouts, but that was mostly due to their special teams whipping the Rams and their offense going off, especially in the Super Bowl qualifier.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
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Throughout the record, the image of Petras’ life in freefall recurs, giving the record a sense of hair-whipping freedom and heart-stopping urgency.—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Licking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/licking. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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