Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- transitive v. To thrash with a stick.
- transitive v. To instill forcefully: drubbed the lesson into my head.
- transitive v. To defeat soundly.
- transitive v. To berate harshly.
- transitive v. To stamp (the feet).
- intransitive v. To beat the ground; stamp.
- intransitive v. To pound; throb.
- n. A blow with a heavy instrument, such as a stick.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- v. to beat (someone or something) with a stick
- v. to forcefully teach something
- v. to defeat someone soundly; to annihilate or crush
- v. to criticize harshly; to excoriate
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- transitive v. To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel.
- n. A blow with a cudgel; a thump.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To beat with a stick; cudgel; belabor; thrash; beat in general.
- n. A blow with a stick or cudgel; a thump; a knock.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- v. beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
Etymologies
Perhaps Arabic dialectal ḍrab, from ḍaraba, to hit; see Ṣ́rb in Semitic roots.
(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)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. (Wiktionary)
yarb commented on the word drub
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
brtom commented on the word drub
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