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RELATED WORDS

wallop, ding, clout, nail, rap, belt, sock, lambaste, crack, strike, wham, biff, beat, thump, buffet, bang, slap, slug, bash, box

Nearby words

  1. wh-,
  2. wh-question,
  3. wh-word,
  4. wha,
  5. whachamacallit,
  6. whack off,
  7. whacked,
  8. whacked out,
  9. whacked-out,
  10. whacking

Idioms

    out of whack, Informal. out of order or alignment; not in proper condition.

Origin of whack

1710–20; orig. dial., Scots form of thwack; cf. whang2, whittle
Related formswhack·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whack

British Dictionary definitions for whack

whack

verb (tr)

to strike with a sharp resounding blow
(usually passive) British informal to exhaust completely
(tr; usu foll by in or on) informal to put something on to or into something else with force or abandonwhack on some sunscreen

noun

(tr) US slang to murderif you were out of line you got whacked
a sharp resounding blow or the noise made by such a blow
informal a share or portion
informal a try or attempt (esp in the phrase have a whack at)
out of whack informal out of order; unbalancedthe whole system is out of whack

interjection

an exclamation imitating the noise of a sharp resounding blow
Derived Formswhacker, noun

Word Origin for whack

C18: perhaps a variant of thwack, ultimately of imitative origin
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 whack

whack

v.

"to strike sharply," 1719, probably of imitative origin. The noun is from 1737. The word in out of whack (1885) is perhaps the slang meaning "share, just portion" (1785), which may be from the notion of the blow that divides, or the rap of the auctioneer's hammer.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with whack

whack

In addition to the idioms beginning with whack

  • whacked out
  • whack off

also see:

  • have a crack (whack) at
  • out of kilter (whack)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.