shellacking

1 of 2

noun

shel·​lack·​ing shə-ˈla-kiŋ How to pronounce shellacking (audio)
Synonyms of shellackingnext
: a decisive defeat : drubbing

shellacking

2 of 2

present participle of shellac entry 2

Synonyms of shellacking

Relevance

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of shellacking in a Sentence

Noun They took a shellacking in yesterday's game. suffered a shellacking at the hands of a vastly superior opposition
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The payoff — eventually — was a 123-103 shellacking of an undermanned Phoenix squad at the Frost Bank Center that handed the Spurs their first victory of the preseason. — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 14 Oct. 2026 Randy Arozarena hit one of Seattle's five home runs in a 19-1 shellacking of the Athletics on Saturday night, the Mariners' biggest ever margin of victory. — CBS News, 13 Sep. 2026 The progressive state representative delivered a shellacking to her moderate, cash-flush opponent, Alex Vindman, in the Florida Democratic primary for Senate. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026 All that said, Britons’ appetite to hand a shellacking to Starmer and the political establishment appears undimmed. — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 8 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for shellacking

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1931, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shellacking was in 1931

Rhymes for shellacking

See All Rhymes for shellacking

Browse Nearby Words

shellac
shellacking
shellac wax
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shellacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shellacking. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

shellacking

noun
shel·​lack·​ing
shə-ˈlak-iŋ
: a lopsided defeat
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All