Etymology
Origin of lambaste
Explanation
To lambaste is to reprimand or berate someone severely. People lambaste those who have angered or disappointed them. Have you ever watched a basketball game and noticed a coach yelling like a maniac at a referee? That coach is lambasting the referee. Lambasting is also called chewing out, taking to task, scolding, reprimanding, berating, bawling out, and chiding. Parents lambaste disobedient kids. A boss might lambaste a worker who is late all the time. Lambasting is severe and goes way beyond criticizing. When you are lambasting, you are furious at someone and letting them know it.
Vocabulary lists containing lambaste
Into the Wild
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The Other Wes Moore
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I've Never Been So Insulted...
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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.
But after hearing, over the course of the docuseries, British broadcasters lambaste Victoria about everything from her weight to her naivety, it feels like she’s earned it.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025
Gaetz, as a man, appears to be widely detested by his former colleagues, given the number willing to publicly lambaste him.
From Salon • Nov. 14, 2024
No—Ackman’s saved his invective to lambaste perceived wrongdoings at Harvard, instead.
From Slate • Dec. 14, 2023
Otherwise, vehicle owners will have every right to lambaste you when they find their catalytic converter gone and are left with nothing but excuses.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2023
And then it will be so nice to sit down and tell the ould gintleman about it, and have him lambaste ye ’cause you wasn’t more respictful to Lone Wolf.
From The Cave in the Mountain A Sequel to In the Pecos Country / by Lieut. R. H. Jayne by Ellis, Edward Sylvester
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.
