thrash

[ thrash ]

/ θræʃ /

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See synonyms for: thrash / thrashed / thrashing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to beat soundly in punishment; flog.

to defeat thoroughly: The home team thrashed the visitors.

Nautical. to force (a close-hauled sailing ship under heavy canvas) against a strong wind or sea.

thresh.

verb (used without object)

to toss, or plunge about.

Nautical. to make way against the wind, tide, etc.; beat.

thresh (defs. 3, 4).

noun

an act or instance of thrashing; beating; blow.

thresh (def. 5).

Swimming. the upward and downward movement of the legs, as in the crawl.

British Slang. a party, usually with drinks.

Verb Phrases

thrash out / over to talk over thoroughly and vigorously in order to reach a decision, conclusion, or understanding; discuss exhaustively.Also thresh out / over.

OTHER WORDS FOR thrash

1 maul, drub.

See synonyms for thrash on Thesaurus.com

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of thrash

before 900; Middle English thrasshen, variant of thresshen to thresh

synonym study for thrash

1. See beat.

OTHER WORDS FROM thrash

un·thrashed, adjectivewell-thrashed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH thrash

thrash , thresh

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use thrash in a sentence

I lay there and thrashed about and all I could hear was my father and ‘ha, ha, ha’.
Kate and William’s Royal Family Values|Tom Sykes|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I lay there and thrashed about and all I could hear was my father and 'ha, ha, ha'.
Philip and Charles's Feud Resurfaces Over ... Wind Energy|Tom Sykes|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“We got thrashed,” Obama recalled, adding that he thought this time it would be better to just watch a sports event.
President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron Share a Symbolic Make-Nice Moment|Eleanor Clift|March 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When Saddam Hussein tried to challenge us from within, we thrashed him in the Gulf War.
Israel's Palestinian Arab Spring|Peter Beinart|May 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST

But, she dog-paddled furiously, thrashed about, made a lot of waves, and managed not to drown.
Palin vs. Biden 2016|Mark McKinnon|June 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He was thrashed at school before the Jews and the hubshi, for the heinous crime of bringing home false reports of progress.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He was thrashed at home by Aunty Rosa on the same count, and then the placard was produced.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
What actor could play Falstaff after riding forty miles and being well thrashed?
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
His limbs thrashed leadenly, his chest heaved and panted, his eyes opened.
The Stars, My Brothers|Edmond Hamilton
What you say of the Engineers is fresh to me, and must be well thrashed out.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for thrash

thrash

/ (θræʃ) /

verb

(tr) to beat soundly, as with a whip or stick

(tr) to defeat totally; overwhelm

(intr) to beat or plunge about in a wild manner

(intr) to move the legs up and down in the water, as in certain swimming strokes

to sail (a boat) against the wind or tide or (of a boat) to sail in this way

another word for thresh

noun

the act of thrashing; blow; beating

informal a party or similar social gathering

Word Origin for thrash

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

thrash

OTHER WORDS FOR thrash

Origin of thrash

synonym study for thrash

OTHER WORDS FROM thrash

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH thrash

Words related to thrash

How to use thrash in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thrash

Word Origin for thrash