shellacking
Americannoun
-
an utter defeat.
a shellacking their team will remember.
-
a sound thrashing.
His father gave him a shellacking for stealing the book.
noun
Etymology
Origin of shellacking
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.
Even Curaçao, the smallest country ever to play in the World Cup, bounced back from a 7-1 shellacking at the hands of Germany to secure its first ever point with a draw against Ecuador.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The Lakers lost by almost 30 points per game in their four-game series against the Thunder during the regular season, and one of the games was a 43-point shellacking.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
As the Lions shadowed the first XI's Ashes shellacking, Gay returned scores of 56 not out against the Prime Ministers' XI and 78 against a Cricket Australia XI in Perth.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Trade-driven gains for industries such as textiles or jewelry are more than offset, markets-wise, by the shellacking India’s IT outsourcers are taking from the global software selloff.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
She had to lay down various layers, like shellacking a Stradivarius.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
