as in defeat
failure to win a contest
took a terrible drubbing in last night's basketball game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pounding
to strike repeatedly
a crowd was drubbing the purse snatcher when the police arrived on the scene
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin
we drubbed our traditional football rivals so badly that it was basically no contest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drubbing
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Pondo responded to a Week 1 loss at Palmer Ridge with a 40-0 drubbing of Rampart that featured 390 total yards, nine tackles for a loss and three sacks.
—Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025
This comes just days after Tagovailoa threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball en route to the Indianapolis Colts’ drubbing of the Dolphins.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
The Jayhawks converted two fourth-down chances out of three in their 31-7 drubbing of Fresno State.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
Helpfully, Tuesday’s Carabao Cup game at Sheffield Wednesday gives the manager and players a swift chance to reset and draw a line under their drubbing.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
The New York Yankees blasted nine home runs in yesterday’s 13-3 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Cody Bellinger led the assault.
—Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
After Sunday’s 38-0 drubbing of the Buffalo Bills, the Bears had Monday off.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
More After the Yankees' 11-1 drubbing at the hands of Detroit, their second 10-run loss in as many nights, manager Aaron Boone attempted to paint a sunny picture of a pitcher in Doval who is showing potential while still adjusting to his new surroundings.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Pondo responded to a Week 1 loss at Palmer Ridge with a 40-0 drubbing of Rampart that featured 390 total yards, nine tackles for a loss and three sacks.
—Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025
This comes just days after Tagovailoa threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball en route to the Indianapolis Colts’ drubbing of the Dolphins.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
The Jayhawks converted two fourth-down chances out of three in their 31-7 drubbing of Fresno State.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
Helpfully, Tuesday’s Carabao Cup game at Sheffield Wednesday gives the manager and players a swift chance to reset and draw a line under their drubbing.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
The New York Yankees blasted nine home runs in yesterday’s 13-3 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Cody Bellinger led the assault.
—Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
After Sunday’s 38-0 drubbing of the Buffalo Bills, the Bears had Monday off.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drubbing
Noun
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Despite the defeats, his investment in Cracker Barrel has been extraordinarily profitable.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
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However, for Ukah, defeat was never failure.—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
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Moments later, blue strobes flashed, warped guitar rang out and pounding drums clanged.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Boaters were the last to be warned to watch the sky as a line of wind-whipping storms pushed out to sea.—
Joe Dwinell,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Golden State usually opens games whipping the ball around and making teams uncomfortable with its aggressive style of defense.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The expansion team has lost each of its last five games against the Lynx, and most recently suffered one of their worst losses of the season in Game 1 on Sunday in a 29-point defeat.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
17 Sep. 2025
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The biggest losses were reported in the District of Columbia ($34,400), Florida ($32,100), and Montana ($26,900).—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That could look like gliding your fingers down them, kissing, licking, or gently biting those areas.—
Essence,
Essence,
11 Sep. 2025
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In the video, the sound of Bambi's stomping, licking, meowing and general everyday life has delighted viewers.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The crew would indeed appear to be at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, because the Navy wasn’t satisfied with disabling the speedboat with a single powerful strike, but kept bombing it to smithereens after the initial hit.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Genser argued that those injuries did not contribute to her death and that there was no evidence of a beating taking place in the condo.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
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Detainees have alleged torture and beatings inside CECOT since their release.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But when this lashing out becomes regular, the partner on the receiving end will start to expect their character to be attacked just as regularly.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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The company destroyed a piece of lashing wire that investigators believe slapped an Xcel electrical conductor and caused arcing that led to the fire, said Matthew Delinko with Bauman, Lowe, Witt & Maxwell, a law firm representing insurance companies.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drubbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drubbing. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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