verb
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(tr) to beat harshly, esp with a whip, strap, etc
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slang (tr) to sell
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(intr) (of a sail) to flap noisily in the wind
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(intr) to make progress by painful work
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to steal
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to harp on some long discarded subject
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to pursue the solution of a problem long realized to be insoluble
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to persuade a person so persistently of the value of (an idea or venture) that he or she loses interest in it
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flog
First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps blend of flay and jog, variant of jag 1 “to prick, slash”; but cf. flagellate
Explanation
To flog is to beat or hit, especially with a tool like a stick or rod. A cruel trainer might flog an unruly horse with a whip. When you flog someone, you beat them as a way of punishing or controlling them. In the old days, teachers were allowed to flog misbehaving students, and it wasn't uncommon for parents to flog their children as punishment. In fact, the word flog first appeared as school slang in the late 1600s — it's thought to be a shortened form of the Latin word flagellare, "flagellate," or "whip."
Vocabulary lists containing flog
"Shooting an Elephant"
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The Magician's Nephew
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within a year, he headlined music festivals including Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Osheaga, as well as his own festival Camp Flog Gnaw.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2025
The first few hours of Camp Flog Gnaw are for shopping.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025
On Saturday, he will make his return to Camp Flog Gnaw alongside 2 Chainz and Larry June.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025
He has also appeared on Channel 5's Storage: Flog the Lot!
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2025
Flog first fault: principiis obsta, Think of this when eating lobster.
From Mr. Punch's After-Dinner Stories by Hammerton, J. A. (John Alexander)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
