thrash
Americanverb (used with object)
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thrashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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thrashed,
past participle, past
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thrashing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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thrashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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thrashed,
past participle, past
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thrashing
present participle
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to toss, or plunge about.
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Nautical. to make way against the wind, tide, etc.; beat.
noun
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an act or instance of thrashing; beating; blow.
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Swimming. the upward and downward movement of the legs, as in the crawl.
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British Slang. a party, usually with drinks.
verb phrase
verb
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(tr) to beat soundly, as with a whip or stick
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(tr) to defeat totally; overwhelm
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(intr) to beat or plunge about in a wild manner
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(intr) to move the legs up and down in the water, as in certain swimming strokes
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to sail (a boat) against the wind or tide or (of a boat) to sail in this way
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another word for thresh
noun
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the act of thrashing; blow; beating
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informal a party or similar social gathering
Synonym Usage
See beat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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thrashsimple
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thrashessimple
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have thrashedperfect
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has thrashedperfect
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am thrashingprogressive
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are thrashingprogressive
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is thrashingprogressive
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have been thrashingperfect progressive
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has been thrashingperfect progressive
Past
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thrashedsimple
-
had thrashedperfect
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was thrashingprogressive
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were thrashingprogressive
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had been thrashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thrash
before 900; Middle English thrasshen, variant of thresshen to thresh
Explanation
When you thrash someone, you beat them — literally, with your fists, or figuratively, by winning a game or competition. You can describe your game plan for a chess match this way: "I plan to thrash that show-off in just ten moves." You can also threaten to physically thrash someone, like a neighborhood bully who's been known to thrash much smaller kids. Thrash was originally a sixteenth-century variation on the word thresh, which means to separate grain from wheat or another plant by beating it.
Vocabulary lists containing thrash
Super Bowl Blowout: Epic Vocab for the Big Game
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The Cay
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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:
It could be a pretty boring, sometimes horrifying process — I’ll never forget the thrash metal song we received about Shannen Doherty that sounded like it was recorded in a blender.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
A band of protestors in flip-flops thrash on aluminum pans, registering their anger with the blackouts, moving quickly to avoid the police.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
It's sequenced with another cross-generational saga, The Test, where Madonna and her eldest daughter, Lourdes Leon, thrash out their differences over a spacious, trancey instrumental.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Uncertainty will weigh on shipping while Washington and Tehran thrash out details on Iran’s nuclear program and other unresolved issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Is he going to make us thrash around with this ridiculous assignment without helping us?
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Wind thrashes around the car park in the dim dawn light, rattling the corrugated supermarket shutters and sending discarded carrier bags billowing as rain tumbles on to the asphalt.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2025
Park thrashes through the “Hedwig” songbook with aplomb; high points include the headbanger “Angry Inch,” the aching anthem “Wicked Little Town” and “Wig in a Box,” a tour-de-force tune of self-discovery.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2021
“When the virus thrashes your lungs, then what’s left is lung damage, and your body just has to heal that on its own,” he says.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
The rough grabs Scheffler’s club as he thrashes out of the rough at 1.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 18, 2021
His head thrashes from side to side on the pillow, one of his hurt hands coming up to shield his closed eyes.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as Poland thrashed 10-man Romania 6-0 in the Nations League.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The opening stand between Banton and Duckett was also impressive - reminiscent of England's brightest ODIs days as they thrashed around the bowling at more than seven runs an over.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Trade bible Variety called it a "lacerating portrait," while Deadline said the "damning" film had "thrashed" Musk as "petty, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, cruel."
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
It's a dream for surfers, but can quickly become a nightmare for inexperienced swimmers thrashed by strong currents.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
The scrap of song came from a woman’s throat, and Joe thrashed and beat his way up the incline and through the hedge, a tangle of muscadine vines, Virginia creeper and hibiscus rusty with age.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
A 35-6 road thrashing by Jacksonville prompted a predictable surge in doomsdayism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Klinge avoided a whitewash and then grew in confidence, turning what once looked like a thrashing into a one-leg deficit.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
For rock fans, “Boston” had it all—dramatic guitar solos, powerful lead vocals, a jabbing bass line, thrashing drums and catchy songs with a smart blend of pop and metal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
They headlined Coachella in 2025, a rare heavy rock band to top the most influential festival in the U.S., delivering a raucous and thrashing set unlike any in the last decade of Coachella headliners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
All around her, Buttercup could hear them beeping and screaming and thrashing their mighty tails.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
