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Showing results for licking. Search instead for Flicking.
Synonyms

licking

American  
[lik-ing] / ˈlɪk ɪŋ /

noun

  1. Informal.

    1. a beating or thrashing.

    2. a reversal or disappointment; defeat or setback.

  2. the act of a person or thing that licks.

licking British  
/ ˈlɪkɪŋ /

noun

  1. a beating

  2. a defeat

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonlicking adjective

Etymology

Origin of licking

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; lick, -ing 1

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.

Lower rates would be welcome news for tech investors, who are still licking their wounds from the past week.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

De Angelis and Waltz are also a hoot together, she as a heaving, hissing vampire bride who can’t stop licking her chops, he as a bone-dry vampire hunter dedicated to his investigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

Now the leopard is licking their faces, and they are bewildered.

From Salon • Jan. 3, 2026

Value investors in the U.S. have spent the past decade licking their wounds as a result.

From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025

“Shoot,” she said, licking her finger and wiping the gook off the side of my nose.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

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.