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DictionarythrashViolent beating
verb / noun

thrash

THRASH/θræʃ/

Violent repeated beating or flailing.

The hooked fish thrashes wildly as I pull it closer.

Fish thrashes vigorously in shallow water with spray, natural anatomy.
Etymology
thrashOld Englishto beat, thresh grain

The ancestor meant beating or trampling grain to separate it. Beating with a flail supplied the image for striking someone violently and for the wild, whipping movements described by thrash.

In context

Our World29:01
a caribou bull will look for a bush and thrash them against it bush thrashing serves two purposes it cleans the remains of the velvet from the new antlers
A Perilous Trek Across Canada During The Great Caribou Migration | Our World

More examples

  • The guards thrashed the prisoner with sticks.
  • The crocodile escapes with a powerful thrash of its tail.
  • Our team thrashed the visitors, winning by twenty points.

Forms

thrash · thrashes · thrashed · thrashing

thrashing noun — A severe beating or overwhelming defeat.

Similar words

beat
More general; means striking repeatedly without necessarily implying wild movement.
pummel
Emphasizes repeated heavy blows, especially with the fists.
flail
Emphasizes uncontrolled swinging movements rather than blows that land.