trounce

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to defeat someone thoroughly or by a very large margin

   The home team trounced its rival in the final match.

2. 2
   verb

   dated: to beat, punish, or rebuke severely

   The schoolmaster threatened to trounce anyone caught stealing.

3. 3
   noun

   dated: a severe beating, punishment, or decisive defeat

   The disobedient dog received a sound trounce from the stronger animals.

From Middle English trauncen or trancen, whose early senses involved forceful movement, trampling, or passing across. The word developed senses of beating and punishing, then the now-common figurative sense of defeating decisively.

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