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shellacking

American  
[shuh-lak-ing] / ʃəˈlæk ɪŋ /

noun

Slang.

  1. an utter defeat.

    a shellacking their team will remember.

  2. a sound thrashing.

    His father gave him a shellacking for stealing the book.
shellacking British  
/ ˈʃɛlækɪŋ, ʃəˈlækɪŋ /

noun

  1. slang a complete defeat; a sound beating

    anyone who gives a shellacking to their bigger neighbours
"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
shellacking Idioms  

  1. see take a shellacking.

Etymology

Origin of shellacking

First recorded in 1880–85; shellac + -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.

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

It is the prospect of an almighty shellacking that prompts so many of the conversations about Sir Keir's future.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

Then they marched into Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday afternoon and found themselves on the wrong end of a 28-7 shellacking by Georgia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

“We needed that,” he said, “to help us get over that shellacking we took in Game 2.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2024

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.