drubbing 1 of 2

noun

as in defeat
failure to win a contest took a terrible drubbing in last night's basketball game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

drubbing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drub
1
as in pounding
to strike repeatedly a crowd was drubbing the purse snatcher when the police arrived on the scene

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin we drubbed our traditional football rivals so badly that it was basically no contest

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of drubbing
Noun
DeBoer briefly regained some goodwill by beating Oklahoma to open the College Football Playoffs after a 28-3 drubbing by Georgia in the SEC Championship. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026 And the entire team took the field on fumes after jetting across the country and landing early Monday morning following a three-game drubbing in Boston over the weekend. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 After his drubbing by DeSantis, several Democrats said Jolly was campaigning more effectively. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 The Blaze host Auron MacIntyre likewise opined that all the infighting over burrito pricing is a symptom of a party bracing for a midterm drubbing and pre-emptively looking for something to pin it on. — Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile in Foxborough, it's been a long offseason since the drubbing the Patriots took in SB60. — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 27 July 2026 And Republican figures who had tied their star to Trump fear a drubbing in the midterms so long as the war continues. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 The drubbing moved the Sox to 42-38 on the season, and kept them in sole possession of first place in the AL Central. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026 And now Starmer himself is out less than two years into a five-year mandate, his Labour government undone by a local-election drubbing and a right-wing populist rise that has scrambled the country’s two-party map. — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 23 June 2026
Verb
The mighty Mariners, who mashed five solo home runs at raucous T-Mobile Park, clinched their title by drubbing Major League Baseball’s doormat, aka the Colorado Rockies, 9-2. — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drubbing
  1. defeat
  2. pounding
  3. whipping
  4. loss
  5. licking
  6. bombing
  7. beating
  8. lashing
Noun
  • De Fougerolles featured in all five of Canada’s World Cup matches, starting four, including in the co-hosts’ last-16 3-0 defeat against Morocco on July 4.
    — Tom Bogert, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The Tar Heels lost two NBA players in Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar from a team that lost in the round of 64 in March at the NCAA Tournament, a defeat that precipitated the firing of former men’s head coach Hubert Davis.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of defeat
Verb
  • When your pounding headache is the result of alcohol (or a stomach virus), a pain reliever alone will not fix the problem.
    — Dr. Jill Grimes, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Sarajevans still remember his commands to the Serb gunmen pounding the Bosnian capital in early 1992.
    — Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • Two months later, the couple went Instagram official, as the SKIMS founder was featured in a video which showed the F1 driver whipping around in his Ferrari F40 at the Daikoku Parking Area in Tokyo, Japan.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Mercedes removed Willow’s cat, but Willow answered by whipping Mercedes with the AEW Women’s World Championship belt.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of whipping
Noun
  • Mayer’s three professional defeats have now all come in England, following split-decision losses to Alycia Baumgardner in London in 2022 and Natasha Jonas in Liverpool in 2024.
    — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • After missing the playoffs in 2025, Martin started off on a great note, handing a solid Mansfield program a 38-35 loss.
    — Charles Baggarly August 29, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of loss
Verb
  • One act featured two young women sitting on the stage and licking orange Popsicles (yes, that was the whole act).
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of licking
Verb
  • The status of its nuclear program, degraded by bombing strikes in 2025, hasn't changed.
    — Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Prabowo vowed the government would continue supporting firefighting operations, including through the deployment of additional water-bombing helicopters and oxygen supplies for firefighters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombing
Noun
  • The 22-0 beating, was the largest loss in the history of the Yankees’ organization.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Despite meeting or beating estimates, shares dropped as investors remained unimpressed.
    — Arjun Kharpal,Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of beating
Verb
  • Odysseus ended up lashing himself to the mast and ordering his crew to plug their ears with wax.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Vinicius Jr started each of Brazil’s five matches at the World Cup and played a starring role in the group stage, lashing in an excellent goal against Morocco, scoring and assisting against Haiti, and adding a brace against Scotland.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of lashing

Browse Nearby Words

drubbed
drubbing
drubbings
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drubbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drubbing. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All