drubbing
Americannoun
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a beating; a sound thrashing.
-
a decisive, humiliating defeat, as in a game or contest.
noun
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a beating, as with a stick, cudgel, etc
-
a comprehensive or heavy defeat, esp in a sporting competition
Etymology
Origin of drubbing
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The building exterior has taken an almost universal drubbing; it looks like a refrigerator that dropped off the Death Star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Portugal recorded their biggest win of the cycle in one of those matches when Ronaldo was not involved - a 9-0 drubbing of Luxembourg in Faro in September 2023.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Saturday he would "listen to voters" after his Labour party received a historic drubbing in local and regional elections.
From Barron's ● May 9, 2026
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
“Bit of a drubbing, if I’m being honest.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
