licking
Americannoun
-
lickings
plural
-
Informal.
-
a beating or thrashing.
-
a reversal or disappointment; defeat or setback.
-
-
the act of a person or thing that licks.
noun
-
a beating
-
a defeat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of licking
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at 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.
See Examples For:
Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, posted the video of himself licking the straw on Instagram with the caption "city is not safe".
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
He sips small amounts of ice water because drinking too much is akin to licking one’s lips, causing them to chap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
A French teen facing criminal charges in Singapore for a straw licking stunt was granted permission on Wednesday to leave the country for three weeks on pledges to return.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
But instead of attacking, the smaller ants climb onto the bigger ones and begin licking and nibbling across their bodies.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 14, 2026
Rosie stuck out her long pink tongue and started licking Tony’s fingers.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
After all the investments they had made into her business, she said they were left with the "lickings of a dog" and felt it was "a kick in the teeth".
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2024
In one tournament after another, Tony took embarrassing lickings.
From Time Magazine Archive
For seven years the League plum has meant rich lickings to the Swiss city of Geneva.
From Time Magazine Archive
The G.O.P. had taken two good lickings in Philadelphia in 1951 and 1952, and was more or less resigned to another.
From Time Magazine Archive
Make some gingerbread for supper," he pleaded, "and give me the lickings, Sally.
From A Son of the Hills by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock
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.
