Synonyms

pummel

American

[puhm-uhl] / ˈpʌm əl /

verb (used with object)

pummeled, pummeling, pummelled, pummelling

to beat or thrash with or as if with the fists.

pummel British

/ ˈpʌməl /

verb

Also (less commonly): pommel. (tr) to strike repeatedly with or as if with the fists

"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

unpummeled adjective
unpummelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of pummel

First recorded in 1540–50; alteration of pommel

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.

This week, investors became very worried that rapidly-advancing AI capabilities offered by companies like Anthropic are going to pummel any company with services that include enterprise software.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026

Instead, Ukrainians are showing the resilience and make-do attitude that have frustrated Moscow’s efforts to pummel them into submission.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

An unusually brutal winter storm is set to pummel more than 160 million Americans from Friday, as a stretched "polar vortex" sends a devastating blast of Arctic air, bringing heavy snows and freezing rains.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was swept away by flood waters on Friday, one of at least nine people to die in a series of dramatic storms that continue to pummel the US.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025

These are all ways to be away, to set aside the images that scream and pummel.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023