flog

American  

[flog, flawg] / flɒg, flɔg /

verb (used with object)

flogs, present (3rd person singular) flogged, past participle, past flogging present participle

1. to beat with a whip, stick, etc., especially as punishment; whip; scourge.

   Synonyms:

   lash, thrash

2. Slang.

   1. to sell, especially aggressively or vigorously.

   2. to promote; publicize.

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flog British  

/ flɒɡ /

verb

1. (tr) to beat harshly, esp with a whip, strap, etc

2. slang (tr) to sell

3. (intr) (of a sail) to flap noisily in the wind

4. (intr) to make progress by painful work

5. to steal

6. 1. to harp on some long discarded subject

   2. to pursue the solution of a problem long realized to be insoluble

7. to persuade a person so persistently of the value of (an idea or venture) that he or she loses interest in it

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flog Idioms  

1. see beat a dead horse.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• flogger
  noun
• flogging
  noun
• overflog
  verb (used with object)
• floggable
  adjective
• unfloggable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• flogging
  present
• flogged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flog
  simple
• flogs
  simple
• have flogged
  perfect
• has flogged
  perfect
• am flogging
  progressive
• are flogging
  progressive
• is flogging
  progressive
• have been flogging
  perfect progressive
• has been flogging
  perfect progressive

Past

• flogged
  simple
• had flogged
  perfect
• was flogging
  progressive
• were flogging
  progressive
• had been flogging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flog
  simple
• will have flogged
  perfect
• will be flogging
  progressive
• will have been flogging
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flog flogs flogged flogging

Valued at $852 billion, OpenAI does not need to flog $45 Bloop-the-bot-covered tote bags that say “Building Things.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

You’re not out to fleece anyone with egregiously high commissions or merely befriend another member because you want to flog the latest financial product.

From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026

“If you’re right here at the top of the curve, functioning at a high level, if I flog your nicotinic receptors, you’re actually going to have a decline in performance,” he adds.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2025

Posters to flog tournament tickets would invariably display her image.

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024

“Half the time you don’t even bother locking it. You’re probably hoping someone’ll flog it so you can collect the insurance.”

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

And it has a sense of humor, opening with a sidewalk preacher who flogs her Bible app.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025

Hawley's character are as outsized as ever, and the mythical Fahr-goh accent still flogs the ear – but the overwrought, flowery speeches that drowned the 2020 season aren’t as overwhelming.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023

It also makes the best budget glitter in the business and flogs it for less than a fiver.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2017

Avon flogs make-up and skin cream under its own brand.

From Economist ● Apr. 4, 2012

Indeed, his theory ran parallel to the famous Yankee motto—'England flogs creation, and Manchester flogs England.'

From Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn

Scores of bare-chested flagellants with covered faces walked barefoot through the dusty streets of Pampanga province's San Fernando as they flogged their backs with bamboo whips in scorching heat.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

Aiden Markram flogged 86 in 55 balls with England failing to make a breakthrough until he was spectacularly caught by Smith with the winning line only 11 runs away.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025

As well as Cox, who brutally flogged anything short over the leg side, opener Will Jacks also hit three sixes in a 27-ball 45.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2025

Jamie Overton flogged 19 from seven balls to give the Spirit an outside chance but he was run out trying to keep the strike with three balls to go.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

He never flogged me, thank goodness, but I was given a vivid description of one of these ceremonies by my best friend at Repton, whose name was Michael.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

But opportunities like last week’s flogging of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S on Circuito Ascari are rare and require considerable schlepping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

He began by timing the ball to all corners of Lahore before flogging England's bowlers whenever they dropped too short.

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2025

After witnessing a sailor’s flogging, Cândido led a revolt against regular whipping by officers in 1910.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

With that kind of all-hands-on-deck flogging of the lie, what's surprising is how the nonsense is not even more popular.

From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2024

Of the twelve members of the committee, five were elsewhere, flogging some or another piece of legislation.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• castigate
• chastise
• spank