pummel

[puhm-uh l]

See more synonyms for pummel on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), pum·meled, pum·mel·ing or (especially British) pum·melled, pum·mel·ling.

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

Also pommel.

Origin of pummel

First recorded in 1540–50; alteration of pommel

Related formsun·pum·meled, adjectiveun·pum·melled, adjective

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

Related Words for pummeled

knock, pelt, trounce, punch, crush, thrash, smack, batter, bash, wallop, lash, flog, maul, whip, pound, hit, club, cudgel, ram, clout

Examples from the Web for pummeled

Contemporary Examples of pummeled

And that time, his face was pummeled to a pulp by the Governor.
Andrew Lincoln Wants Rick to End With Johnny Cash and the Sunset
Melissa Leon
October 14, 2014
Engaged by an angry mob upon arrival, Nixon and his wife were yelled at, spat on, and pummeled with rocks.
Castro Visit Causes Catastrophic Muttering in Caracas
Daniel Lansberg-Rodríguez
March 6, 2014
By that time, I had been pummeled with so much, for so long, that I recall just staring at the pages, stunned.
Does Jeffrey MacDonald Belong in Jail?
Megan McArdle
January 3, 2013
The storm also pummeled the East Village and Lower East Side, turning the neighborhoods into a veritable Waterworld.
Seven Shocking New York City Flooding Videos
Ben Teitelbaum
October 30, 2012
Had the party nominated me, I would have pummeled Obama in the debates and won the election.
Newt’s Only Hope: Re-elect Obama
David Frum
February 6, 2012

Historical Examples of pummeled

They dove for him, hauled him out of the bed, and pummeled him with sheer delight.
The Golden Skull
John Blaine
He could have pummeled the irreverent knot of gamins who mimicked it grotesquely.
The Incendiary
W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
But now he was on top and he pummeled his opponent to a pulp.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, December 1930
Various
They clinched and pummeled when they could and where they could.
Flying U Ranch
B. M. Bower
I never was whipped, though I was pummeled severely at times.
Vandemark's Folly
Herbert Quick

British Dictionary definitions for pummeled

pummel

verb -mels, -melling or -melled or US -mels, -meling or -meled

(tr) to strike repeatedly with or as if with the fistsAlso (less commonly): pommel

Word Origin for pummel

C16: see pommel

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 pummeled

pummel

1540s, alteration of pommel in the verbal sense of "to beat repeatedly." In early use pumble, poumle; current spelling from c.1600. Related: Pummeled; pummeling.