- a variation of wack.
whack
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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whacks,
present (3rd person singular)
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whacked,
past participle, past
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whacking
present participle
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to strike with a smart, resounding blow or blows.
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Slang. to divide into or take in shares (often followed byup ).
Whack the loot between us two.
verb (used without object)
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whacks,
present (3rd person singular)
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whacked,
past participle, past
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whacking
present participle
noun
verb phrase
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whack out to produce quickly or, sometimes, carelessly.
She whacks out a short story every week or so.
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whack off
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to cut off or separate with a blow.
The cook whacked off the fish's head.
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Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.
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idioms
noun
verb
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to strike with a sharp resounding blow
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informal (usually passive) to exhaust completely
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informal (tr; usu foll by in or on) to put something on to or into something else with force or abandon
whack on some sunscreen
noun
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slang (tr) to murder
if you were out of line you got whacked
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a sharp resounding blow or the noise made by such a blow
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informal a share or portion
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informal a try or attempt (esp in the phrase have a whack at )
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informal out of order; unbalanced
the whole system is out of whack
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whacksimple
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whackssimple
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have whackedperfect
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has whackedperfect
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am whackingprogressive
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are whackingprogressive
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is whackingprogressive
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have been whackingperfect progressive
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has been whackingperfect progressive
Past
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whackedsimple
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had whackedperfect
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was whackingprogressive
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were whackingprogressive
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had been whackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whack
First recorded in 1710–20; originally dialect, Scots form of thwack; cf. whang 2, whittle
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:
So competitive balance can’t be completely out of whack, can it?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
“We have a red-flag system here, where if there’s anything that gets really out of whack, they can immediately tag the milk, and it doesn’t go to anything but cheese,” McAfee told me.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
The truth is college sports have always been a little out of whack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
"Having to play with an insole throughout my entire career threw the rest of my body out of whack."
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
He lets out a laugh, and I automatically duck, thinking that mischievous glint in his eyes means he’s going to whack me upside the head.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
The symbolism whacks you like a 90-pound dumbbell: Being more manly solves everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Tech shares have taken their share of whacks in the past few months.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
Down the way on the Third Street Promenade, resounding whacks of pickleball volleys pop out of a 1960s-vintage storefront last occupied by shoe seller Adidas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
Speculative effort from Martina Piemonte, who from around 40 yards out whacks the ball towards the Arsenal goal.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2024
Muthu joined us when Arul was telling me that Yesu said that if someone whacks you on one cheek, you should show them the other cheek.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
Will Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media behemoth Meta Platforms get whacked with a legal judgment equal to its entire $1.4 trillion stock-market value?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Indeed, as the band, including Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Lewis and Schwartzman, performed the Bobby Fuller Four’s single “Let Her Dance,” Murray indeed whacked the hell out of that thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
For all its association with AI, Palantir is still a software company and software stocks have gotten whacked in 2026.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
In other words, even though businesses no longer have to pay the emergency tariffs, they are still getting whacked by sundry other border taxes, including his national-security tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos, lumber and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
BAM! whacked the cap, over and over again until it was flat.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
Hunter was dropped on three and went on to make 28 before Prendergast accelerated through the middle overs, whacking eight fours and two sixes in her match-winning knock.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Two big loans that were made during the postpandemic boom in private-equity buyouts are defaulting, whacking some private-credit funds and ratcheting up losses in the already troubled corner of Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
From repeatedly whacking steel with a heavy hammer to sitting sweat-drenched by a hearth for hours, the daily grind of blademaking is also not for the faint-hearted.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
But Root held his nerve, whacking a six and a four to regain control and Sam Hain struck the winning runs with a ball to spare.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025
Poppy, delighted to have Lina at home to play with, kept toddling over with things she found—dust rags, kitchen spoons, stray shoes—and whacking them against Lina’s knees, saying, “Play wif dis! Play wif dis!”
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
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.
