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)
• succeeding
• prevailing (over)
• 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
• exceeding
• flattening
• surpassing
• clobbering
• capping
• topping
• smoking
• blowing out
• skinning
• overwhelming
• edging (out)
• breaking
• pipping
• 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

March has a wide variety of loadouts, from sleek two-in-ones to rugged portables that'll take a licking and keep on ticking. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026

Common signs of anal gland problems include scooting, persistent odors, and excessive licking of the rear end. — Kasey Caminiti, USA Today, 5 Feb. 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