drubbing

American  

[druhb-ing] / ˈdrʌb ɪŋ /

noun

1. a beating; a sound thrashing.

2. a decisive, humiliating defeat, as in a game or contest.

---

drubbing British  

/ ˈdrʌbɪŋ /

noun

1. a beating, as with a stick, cudgel, etc

2. a comprehensive or heavy defeat, esp in a sporting competition

---

Etymology

Origin of drubbing

First recorded in 1640–50; drub + -ing ¹

Explanation

A drubbing in sports is a defeat, especially by a wide margin. Your team's 100-point loss in the dodgeball tournament could be called a drubbing. Ouch. When one team soundly beats another, that's a drubbing. You can also use this word for a more literal kind of beating, actually physically striking someone: "My brother threatened to give that bully a drubbing if he keeps teasing me." The word comes from the verb drub, "to beat," probably from the Arabic root daraba, "he beat up."

Example Sentences

Instead, they got the experimental “All Shook Up,” which has aged well despite the critical drubbing it received at the time.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Grant did not avoid responsibility for the drubbing he’d just taken.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Broadcom’s stock rose in after-hours trading Wednesday following its fiscal first-quarter report, but that comes on the heels of a drubbing the shares have taken of late.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Less than a month on from wrapping up a resounding Ashes drubbing, Australia's T20 side has failed to hit similar heights.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

She gave me a nice drubbing when I finally turned up with it.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

Related Words

• beating
• rout
• thrashing
• trouncing
• whipping