Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A manual threshing device consisting of a long wooden handle or staff and a shorter, free-swinging stick attached to its end.
- intransitive verb To beat or strike with or as if with a flail.
- intransitive verb To wave or swing vigorously; thrash.
- intransitive verb To thresh using a flail.
- intransitive verb To move vigorously or erratically; thrash about.
- intransitive verb To strike or lash out violently.
- intransitive verb To thresh grain.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To whip; scourge.
- To strike with or as if with a flail; thresh.
- noun An instrument for threshing or beating grain from the ear, consisting of the hand-staff, which is held in the hand, the swingle or swiple, which strikes the grain, and the middle band, which connects the hand-staff and swingle, and may be a thong of leather or a rope of hemp or straw.
- noun Milit., a similar implement used as a weapon of war in the middle ages.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An instrument for threshing or beating grain from the ear by hand, consisting of a wooden staff or handle, at the end of which a stouter and shorter pole or club, called a swipe, is so hung as to swing freely.
- noun An ancient military weapon, like the common flail, often having the striking part armed with rows of spikes, or loaded.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
tool used forthreshing , consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material. - noun A
weapon which has the (usuallyspherical ) striking part attached to the handle with a flexible joint such as achain . - verb To
beat using a flail or similar implement. - verb To
wave orswing vigorously - verb To
thresh .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb move like a flail; thresh about
- noun an implement consisting of handle with a free swinging stick at the end; used in manual threshing
- verb give a thrashing to; beat hard
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The Army wanted a robot that could perform a task called "flail" - essentially tilling dirt to find bombs buried beneath, and then either disabling or detonating them without destroying the robot.
Wired Top Stories Spencer Ackerman 2011
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I am indulgent on this, I suppose: it won’t do them any good in the long-term, watching them flail is amusing, and they’ll probably cut something that will seriously annoy their base support.
And now, a little screaming from Steny Hoyer. | RedState 2010
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When we thresh our corn, the flail is the final cause of the separation of the grain.
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When we thresh our corn, the flail is the final cause of the separation of the grain.
Archive 2005-07-01 sfmike 2005
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When we thresh our corn, the flail is the final cause of the separation of the grain.
The Murder Cult sfmike 2005
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To flail is to swing the arms widely or to strike or beat.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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To flail is to swing the arms widely or to strike or beat.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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See, back then, they would use a long, sticklike tool, called a flail to beat the wheat or whatever they were thrashing to crack the hulls and release the grain inside.
SELLING THE WHEEL JEFF COX 2000
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See, back then, they would use a long, sticklike tool, called a flail to beat the wheat or whatever they were thrashing to crack the hulls and release the grain inside.
SELLING THE WHEEL JEFF COX 2000
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See, back then, they would use a long, sticklike tool, called a flail to beat the wheat or whatever they were thrashing to crack the hulls and release the grain inside.
SELLING THE WHEEL JEFF COX 2000
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