wallop
Americanverb (used with object)
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wallops,
present (3rd person singular)
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walloped,
past participle, past
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walloping
present participle
verb (used without object)
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wallops,
present (3rd person singular)
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walloped,
past participle, past
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walloping
present participle
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Informal. to move violently and clumsily.
The puppy walloped down the walk.
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(of a liquid) to boil violently.
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Obsolete. to gallop.
noun
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wallops
plural
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a vigorous blow.
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the ability to deliver vigorous blows, as in boxing.
That fist of his packs a wallop.
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Informal.
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the ability to effect a forceful impression; punch.
That ad packs a wallop.
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a pleasurable thrill; kick.
The joke gave them all a wallop.
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Informal. a violent, clumsy movement; lurch.
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Obsolete. a gallop.
verb
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informal (tr) to beat soundly; strike hard
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informal (tr) to defeat utterly
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dialect (intr) to move in a clumsy manner
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(intr) (of liquids) to boil violently
noun
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informal a hard blow
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informal the ability to hit powerfully, as of a boxer
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informal a forceful impression
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a slang word for beer
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wallopsimple
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wallopssimple
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have wallopedperfect
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has wallopedperfect
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am wallopingprogressive
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are wallopingprogressive
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is wallopingprogressive
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have been wallopingperfect progressive
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has been wallopingperfect progressive
Past
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wallopedsimple
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had wallopedperfect
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was wallopingprogressive
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were wallopingprogressive
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had been wallopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wallop
1300–50; Middle English walopen to gallop, wal ( l ) op gallop < Anglo-French waloper (v.), walop (noun), Old French galoper, galop; see gallop
Explanation
A wallop is a hard punch or another strong hit. A boxer sometimes wins a match with one single, well-aimed wallop to their opponent. A wallop is not just a physical blow, but it can also be a huge effect or impact. A principal's strongly worded lecture to a group of bullies might pack a wallop, for example, resulting in a major change in behavior. Use this word as a verb and it means "punch" or "defeat completely," so you'll frequently hear it in sports reporting: "The Wizards score the last points of the game and wallop the Pacers."
Vocabulary lists containing wallop
Super Bowl Blowout: Epic Vocab for the Big Game
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"The Mixer," Vocabulary from the short story
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Game Changer
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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:
Record-high beef prices will continue to wallop U.S. consumers this summer as drought conditions and the resurgence of an invasive pest are the latest obstacles to increasing cattle herds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
All the indications are that Maeda will leave Celtic this summer, exiting with a crash, a bang and a wallop.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
They also wallop small businesses, which typically pay tax at their state’s individual rate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Instead, he shows us a glimpse of bored, incarcerated kids tossing a wadded-up foil blanket in their cage and that image alone packs a wallop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
“And do what, Clare? That human who tried to wallop me was huge! And that look in his eyes when he was smashing your mushrooms? He’s a maniac!”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
By using the “Net Rating” metric from college basketball stats guru Ken Pomeroy, it’s possible to measure how thoroughly a team wallops its opponents on both ends of the floor, adjusted for strength of schedule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
He wallops his first ball to the boundary and then promptly heads back to the pavilion.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2024
As another winter storm wallops the West, the mountains will receive much-needed snow, but states including Oregon will also see significant freezing rain on Saturday.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
With dazzling ballroom performances, juicy drama and wallops of heartache throughout, “Pose” tells the story of how we got to this drag-obsessed culture and shows why the art form’s history is so important today.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Just to be doing something she picked up a ten-penny nail and drove it into the steps with a few good wallops.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
I wondered, though, if there were any retired Dodgers out there who might be thinking they’d have walloped more home runs if they’d had the advantage of warmer air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Last October's Hurricane Melissa – the strongest in Jamaica's history – walloped the island's agricultural sector, while it was still recovering from Hurricane Beryl the year before.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
Clement and the law firms walloped the government.
From Slate ● May 15, 2026
Consumers are cutting back on how much they’re spending to fill up their gas tanks these days, and most household budgets are still getting walloped by higher prices.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
I didn’t quite understand the point of watching your terrible team get walloped, though the air- conditioning was reason enough for me.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
England now face a different challenge, of rebuilding the shattered confidence of a team scarred by their walloping down under, against a New Zealand team that could very easily pose huge problems.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
The men traded a series of incendiary, insulting songs, but the one that endures is Lamar’s “Not Like Us”—spooky, walloping, chart-topping, Grammy-winning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Guided by visionary coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana has spent the College Football Playoff walloping blueblood programs like Alabama and Knight’s Oregon Ducks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Marseille climbed provisionally top of the French Ligue 1 on Friday after walloping woeful Nice 5-1 in a one-sided local derby with fireworks on and off the pitch.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
All the while there was a walloping hissing, and I could have sworn the ground rumbled and trembled underneath us.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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.
