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
And just when you think you can’t possibly have an emotional connection to what you’re watching, a sudden wallop to the gut punches the tears right out of you.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
Today, King’s grim satire doesn’t seem quite as far-fetched, so Wright’s challenge will be making sure his update still packs a wallop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
The Getty Museum’s groundbreaking Pride Month show is provocative and important, and the timing packs a wallop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2025
These Amoses might look like a bunch of cream puffs but if she was anything like Todd I bet she could pack a real wallop.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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
Bayona’s take on the tragedy wallops its viewers with 2 hours and 24 minutes of unrelenting intensity.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 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
The piano rills through its finishing measures, and then the static wallops back.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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
Clement and the law firms walloped the government.
From Slate ● May 15, 2026
In terms of this game, going to Sunderland is still a tough game - even though the Black Cats were walloped 5-0 by Nottingham Forest last time out at Stadium of Light.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Even the defending-champion Thunder, who walloped James’s short-handed Lakers in Game 1, aren’t immune.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Deciding that he didn’t feel like having the daylights walloped out of him, he walked to the rack of weapons and selected two wooden swords.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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
She got into a rhythm from there, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in USC’s 87-48 season-opening walloping of New Mexico State.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
There was a walloping buzzing in my head.
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.
