Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To thrash with a stick.
  • intransitive verb To instill forcefully.
  • intransitive verb To defeat soundly.
  • intransitive verb To berate harshly.
  • intransitive verb To stamp (the feet).
  • intransitive verb To beat the ground; stamp.
  • intransitive verb To pound; throb.
  • noun A blow with a heavy instrument, such as a stick.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To beat with a stick; cudgel; belabor; thrash; beat in general.
  • noun A blow with a stick or cudgel; a thump; a knock.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A blow with a cudgel; a thump.
  • transitive verb To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to beat (someone or something) with a stick
  • verb to forcefully teach something
  • verb to defeat someone soundly; to annihilate or crush
  • verb to criticize harshly; to excoriate

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps Arabic dialectal ḍrab, from ḍaraba, to hit; see ṣ́rb in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1625, originally a dialectal word (Kent) drab, variant of drop, dryp, drib ("to beat"), from Middle English drepen (preterit drop, drap, drape ("to strike, kill")) from Old English drepan ("to strike"), from Proto-Germanic *drepanan (“to beat, bump, strike, slay”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhrebh- (“to strike, crush, kill”). Akin to Old Frisian drop ("a blow, beat"), Old High German treffan ("to hit"), Old Norse drepa ("to strike, slay, kill"). Compare also dub. More at drape.

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Examples

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  • For I prophecy that the Reformation will make way in France when Moab is made meek by being well drubbed by the English. (from Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart)

    December 31, 2007

  • Then the rain they had hoped for came, with scattered drops as big as acorns slapping down, followed by a drubbing deluge.

    - William Steig, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride

    September 21, 2008