- a variation of wack.
whack
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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whacks,
present (3rd person singular)
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whacked,
past participle, past
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whacking
present participle
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to strike with a smart, resounding blow or blows.
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Slang. to divide into or take in shares (often followed byup ).
Whack the loot between us two.
verb (used without object)
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whacks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whacked,
past participle, past
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whacking
present participle
noun
verb phrase
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whack out to produce quickly or, sometimes, carelessly.
She whacks out a short story every week or so.
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whack off
-
to cut off or separate with a blow.
The cook whacked off the fish's head.
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Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.
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idioms
noun
verb
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to strike with a sharp resounding blow
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informal (usually passive) to exhaust completely
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informal (tr; usu foll by in or on) to put something on to or into something else with force or abandon
whack on some sunscreen
noun
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slang (tr) to murder
if you were out of line you got whacked
-
a sharp resounding blow or the noise made by such a blow
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informal a share or portion
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informal a try or attempt (esp in the phrase have a whack at )
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informal out of order; unbalanced
the whole system is out of whack
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whacksimple
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whackssimple
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have whackedperfect
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has whackedperfect
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am whackingprogressive
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are whackingprogressive
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is whackingprogressive
-
have been whackingperfect progressive
-
has been whackingperfect progressive
Past
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whackedsimple
-
had whackedperfect
-
was whackingprogressive
-
were whackingprogressive
-
had been whackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whack
First recorded in 1710–20; originally dialect, Scots form of thwack; cf. whang 2, whittle
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:
Commodity traders often profit when prices in different regions and at different times move out of whack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“We have a red-flag system here, where if there’s anything that gets really out of whack, they can immediately tag the milk, and it doesn’t go to anything but cheese,” McAfee told me.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
"Having to play with an insole throughout my entire career threw the rest of my body out of whack."
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
“My immune system and digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple of three years,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
Sometimes the ties looked whack but they still had them on.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
The symbolism whacks you like a 90-pound dumbbell: Being more manly solves everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Wicketkeeping coach Sarah Taylor has been working him hard before play with a drill where she whacks tennis balls towards him with a racket.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Tech shares have taken their share of whacks in the past few months.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
The Oilers’ pulled that goal back on a power play less than three minutes later when Perry took three whacks at the puck before getting it by Kuemper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025
He smiles, then whacks the box with the back of his hand so that it falls over and its contents spill onto the floor.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Will Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media behemoth Meta Platforms get whacked with a legal judgment equal to its entire $1.4 trillion stock-market value?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Indeed, as the band, including Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Lewis and Schwartzman, performed the Bobby Fuller Four’s single “Let Her Dance,” Murray indeed whacked the hell out of that thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
"Next thing you know, I get whacked for a six."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
For all its association with AI, Palantir is still a software company and software stocks have gotten whacked in 2026.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
After trudging half a mile through hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers, they finally reached the road.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
The 28-year-old started patiently, reaching her half-century off 63 balls after Bouchier dominated the strike early on, before kicking on and whacking her next fifty off just 37.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
So now he’s whacking Canada harder for punching back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
From repeatedly whacking steel with a heavy hammer to sitting sweat-drenched by a hearth for hours, the daily grind of blademaking is also not for the faint-hearted.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
Ellie Kildunne, whose concussion symptoms must have eased judging by the way she was whacking a pitchside drum, has more obvious stardust to her game.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025
I walked over to the snag, spit on my hands, and started whacking away with my club.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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