pummel
Americanverb (used with object)
-
pummels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pummeled,
past participle, past
-
pummelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
pummeling,
present participle
-
pummelling
present participle (especially British)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pummelsimple
-
pummelssimple
-
have pummeledperfect
-
have pummelledperfect
-
has pummeledperfect
-
has pummelledperfect
-
am pummelingprogressive
-
am pummellingprogressive
-
are pummelingprogressive
-
are pummellingprogressive
-
is pummelingprogressive
-
is pummellingprogressive
-
have been pummelingperfect progressive
-
have been pummellingperfect progressive
-
has been pummelingperfect progressive
-
has been pummellingperfect progressive
Past
-
pummeledsimple
-
pummelledsimple
-
had pummeledperfect
-
had pummelledperfect
-
was pummelingprogressive
-
was pummellingprogressive
-
were pummelingprogressive
-
were pummellingprogressive
-
had been pummelingperfect progressive
-
had been pummellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pummel
First recorded in 1540–50; alteration of pommel
Explanation
The best pummelers in the world are probably boxers, as to pummel means to repeatedly beat someone down, especially with fists. The main sense of pummel is physical, but you can use it figuratively when something is taking a beating. During a stock market crash, the economy is being pummeled. A heavy rain can pummel the earth. If you get three bad math grades in a row, it feels like numbers themselves are pummeling you. When many bad things happen at once, it feels like you're being pummeled by life.
Vocabulary lists containing pummel
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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.
See Examples For:
The film’s brilliance comes from Wain and Marino knowing how to pummel the viewer with jokes while measuring each punchline’s individual weight.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The fast-developing storm is threatening to pummel the US East Coast with a foot or more of snow beginning Sunday, just weeks after the region recovered from another devastating weather system.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
This week, investors became very worried that rapidly-advancing AI capabilities offered by companies like Anthropic are going to pummel any company with services that include enterprise software.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
Instead, Ukrainians are showing the resilience and make-do attitude that have frustrated Moscow’s efforts to pummel them into submission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Shame and guilt pummel me, but my anger is real, too.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
"So matter just pummels directly onto the surface, at very high speeds, like an asteroid hitting the Moon."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Now they say they have nowhere to hide from intense flooding as rainfall exacerbated by the weather phenomenon El Nino pummels large parts of Somalia.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Lethal landslides are common in the area when heavy monsoon rain pummels Myanmar between May and October.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2023
The sheer force of their thousand-pound bodies pummels the dirt track's hazardous slings — but only after first funneling through the narrow cabling of their spindly forelimb ligaments.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2023
Sonia pummels the water with her arms and pushes it behind her with her legs.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
In Brighton, onlookers filmed as a section of the West Pier fell into the sea as it was pummeled by large waves.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
The year after that, heavy rains pummeled the burn scar, burying buildings and vehicles under mud and debris.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
A succession of heat waves pummeled the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The country's third-largest city was pummeled by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday, along with swaths of Colombia's coffee region and western coast.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The sunflower I’d been nursing along was broken in half, the yellow petals pummeled into the dirt.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Seoul and Tokyo enjoyed healthy gains in early exchanges, with chipmakers SK hynix and Kioxia among the best performers -- having been pummelled Thursday as investors bailed out of the once-dominant AI sector.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The group pummelled the bot with more than 1,000 prompts to bypass the safeguards and convince Claude they were allowed to test the system for vulnerabilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
Also on the main card, rising Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis pummelled New Zealand's Dan Hooker with a second round technical knockout in the lightweight.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
With baseline power anchoring her game, the 27-year-old Belarusian has pummelled opponents on the way to nine WTA titles and created a clear gap at the top of the world rankings.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
I felt as if I were being pummelled by a great fist.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
High fuel prices are pummeling the freight sector.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
On a vast beach in Morocco last year, waves were pummeling one of humanity’s oldest plot devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
At a Dr. Jack seminar held in a furniture store, Cheadle’s unrecognizable cameo competes with kids jumping on a couch and a spasmodic massage chair pummeling Corvette’s face.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
On this night, the mercenaries prevailed, in a pummeling so relentless and a silencing so rapid that a three-peat appeared all but inevitable: Dodgers 14, Blue Jays 2.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
We’re surging down 1-5 with our car windows cracked, wind pummeling through the open spaces.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
The heatwaves pummelling Europe this summer will have costly impacts on industries ranging from agriculture to tourism -- but that hasn't stopped stock markets from hitting all-time highs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The study only looked at data up to 2024, however Emerton said the heatwaves already pummelling Europe this year suggest the trend has been continuing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
“Artificial Angels” captures the pummelling wrongness of internet-assisted living in 2025.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025
Instead, he opted to get the game done in a hurry – pummelling the ball both sides of the wicket as he hit a remarkable 20 fours and five sixes in a career-best ODI knock.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024
And again she began her pummelling with redoubled energy.
From Jane Lends A Hand by Shirley Watkins
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