lambaste

or lam·bast

[lam-beyst, -bast]

verb (used with object), lam·bast·ed, lam·bast·ing. Informal.

to beat or whip severely.
to reprimand or berate harshly; censure; excoriate.

Origin of lambaste

1630–40; apparently lam¹ + baste³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lambast

Historical Examples of lambast

He got him down and started to lambast the Judas out of him.
The Trail of '98
Robert W. Service
I only gave him his riding-orders to—to lambast you on general principles for not producing work that will last.
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition
Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for lambast

lambast

lambaste (læmˈbeɪst)

verb (tr)

to beat or whip severely
to reprimand or scold

Word Origin for lambast

C17: perhaps from lam 1 + baste ³

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lambast

lambaste

1630s, from lam (1590s, ultimately from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse lemja "to beat, to lame") + baste "to thrash" (see baste). Related: Lambasted; lambasting.