as in defeats
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lickings
Noun
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This rapid frequency of defeats could signal to some skeptics that Dallas has officially entered the league’s race of tanking.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Feb. 2026 -
Five of those six defeats have been by a single goal.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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We are threatened with beatings and gunfire.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
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Colmenarez told the Herald that he was contacted that fall by the FBI, which wanted to talk with him about Quero Silva and the beatings at the national guard headquarters in Barquisimeto.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Those market jitters saw over $1 trillion wiped from the market caps of big tech firms, though some stocks have since recovered some of their losses.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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Its benefits include greater energy capture without atmospheric losses, near-continuous sunlight, as well as optimal sun-facing orientation.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The earliest depictions of slavery were already crawling with the terrible proceedings the Gothic tends to depict, from bloody whippings to family curses to the wrathful wraiths of the slain enslaved.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Everyone in life faces obstacles and setbacks while trying to achieve hopes and dreams without realizing what God is doing, Tebow said.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
15 Feb. 2026
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Bubic didn’t experience any setbacks.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Keep the trimmings to a few inches thick when compacted to form a mulch layer that allows good air and water movement into the soil.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Feb. 2026
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The directive applies to imports of lean beef trimmings, which are used to produce ground beef.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Lickings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lickings. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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