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thrash

[thrash]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to beat soundly in punishment; flog.
  2. to defeat thoroughly: The home team thrashed the visitors.
  3. Nautical. to force (a close-hauled sailing ship under heavy canvas) against a strong wind or sea.
  4. thresh.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to toss, or plunge about.
  2. Nautical. to make way against the wind, tide, etc.; beat.
  3. thresh(defs 3, 4).
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noun
  1. an act or instance of thrashing; beating; blow.
  2. thresh(def 5).
  3. Swimming. the upward and downward movement of the legs, as in the crawl.
  4. British Slang. a party, usually with drinks.
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Verb Phrases
  1. thrash out/over, to talk over thoroughly and vigorously in order to reach a decision, conclusion, or understanding; discuss exhaustively.Also thresh out/over.
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Origin of thrash

before 900; Middle English thrasshen, variant of thresshen to thresh
Related formsun·thrashed, adjectivewell-thrashed, adjective
Can be confusedthrash thresh

Synonyms

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1. maul, drub.

Synonym study

1. See beat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for thrash out

thrash out

verb
  1. (tr, adverb) to discuss fully or vehemently, esp in order to come to a solution or agreement
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thrash

verb
  1. (tr) to beat soundly, as with a whip or stick
  2. (tr) to defeat totally; overwhelm
  3. (intr) to beat or plunge about in a wild manner
  4. (intr) to move the legs up and down in the water, as in certain swimming strokes
  5. to sail (a boat) against the wind or tide or (of a boat) to sail in this way
  6. another word for thresh
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noun
  1. the act of thrashing; blow; beating
  2. informal a party or similar social gathering
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See also thrash out

Word Origin

Old English threscan; related to Old High German dreskan, Old Norse thriskja
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 thrash out

thrash

v.

1580s, "to separate grains from wheat, etc., by beating," dialectal variant of threshen (see thresh). Sense of "beat (someone) with (or as if with) a flail" is first recorded c.1600. Meaning "to make wild movements like those of a flail or whip" is attested from 1846. Related: Thrashed; thrashing. Type of fast heavy metal music first called by this name 1982.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with thrash out

thrash out

Discuss fully, especially to resolve a problem, as in We'll just have to thrash out our ideas about where to go on vacation. [Late 1800s]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.