clobber

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈklɑbɚ/ UK /ˈklɒbə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to hit hard or defeat decisively; British slang for clothing and gear

The home team clobbered their rivals by twenty points.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to hit hard or defeat... batter pummel thrash trounce wallop hammerdrubdefeat

Word family

Derived forms clobbering

Etymology

Of obscure origin; the verb 'to hit hard' is attested from 1940s British and RAF slang, of uncertain derivation. The slang noun 'clothing, gear' is also of unknown origin, recorded from the 1850s.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

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# clobber

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈklɑbɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈklɒbə/

## Meanings
1. to hit hard or defeat decisively; British slang for clothing and gear

## Examples
- The home team clobbered their rivals by twenty points.

## Synonyms
- batter
- pummel
- thrash
- trounce
- wallop
- hammer
- drub
- defeat

## Derived Forms
- clobbering

## Etymology
Of obscure origin; the verb 'to hit hard' is attested from 1940s British and RAF slang, of uncertain derivation. The slang noun 'clothing, gear' is also of unknown origin, recorded from the 1850s.

## AI Etymology
Clobber is of obscure origin; the verb 'to hit hard' is attested from 1940s British and RAF slang, of uncertain derivation. The slang noun 'clothing, gear' is also of unknown origin, recorded from the 1850s. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a verb and noun, clobber now means "hit hard or defeat decisively; British slang for clothing and gear", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as clobbering. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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clobber

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