Definitions

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

  • transitive verb To strike violently and repeatedly; batter or maul.
  • transitive verb To defeat decisively.
  • transitive verb To criticize harshly.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of coarse paste made of ground cinders and flour, used to conceal the breaks in the leather of cobbled shoes.
  • To conceal defects in, as by the use of clobber in cobbling shoes.

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

  • noun personal possessions; -- an informal term.

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

  • noun UK, Australia, slang Clothing.
  • noun UK, slang Equipment.
  • verb transitive, slang To hit or bash severely; to seriously harm or damage.
  • verb transitive, computing To overwrite (data) or override (an assignment of a value), often unintentionally or unexpectedly.

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

  • verb beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
  • verb strike violently and repeatedly
  • noun informal terms for personal possessions

Etymologies

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

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

British slang from 19th Century CE.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

British slang from 1941 CE; possibly onomatopoeic of the sound of detonated bombs in the distance.

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Examples

  • Baccy down me sock, someone says something a little out of sway, a stranger in all dark non-prison clobber is opposite my open cell door flashing his watch in my direction he was.

    Archive 2006-02-01 Ben Barren 2006

  • Baccy down me sock, someone says something a little out of sway, a stranger in all dark non-prison clobber is opposite my open cell door flashing his watch in my direction he was.

    997 Turbo on Snow, Guardian's Doherty on Prison Ben Barren 2006

  • Today in my Sunday school class I emphasized that those who use the material in Romans 1 about homosexuality as a weapon with which to condemn and "clobber" others have clearly made the error of stopping reading at the end of chapter 1 - which, like all the chapter and verse divisions in the New Testament, was not in the letter Paul wrote.

    Homosexuality and Romans 1-3 James F. McGrath 2009

  • Today in my Sunday school class I emphasized that those who use the material in Romans 1 about homosexuality as a weapon with which to condemn and "clobber" others have clearly made the error of stopping reading at the end of chapter 1 - which, like all the chapter and verse divisions in the New Testament, was not in the letter Paul wrote.

    Archive 2009-03-01 James F. McGrath 2009

  • Yes, there are the four to six "clobber" verses, but surely the overall message of Scripture is one of compassion, justice, and a recognition that we are all created in God's image.

    Archive 2007-03-01 Debra W. Haffner 2007

  • Yes, there are the four to six "clobber" verses, but surely the overall message of Scripture is one of compassion, justice, and a recognition that we are all created in God's image.

    What's the Connection?: Mr. Mohler, We'd Love to Help Debra W. Haffner 2007

  • The SEC contends in its most recent case that Thomas Badian's brother, Andreas Badian, an official at Rhino, directed three brokers who were affiliated with Refco Securities, two of them were also affiliated with another brokerage that was named in the case to sell short massive amounts of Sedona shares with "unbridled levels of aggression," intending to "clobber" Sedona's stock price until it collapsed.

    Naked Justice? 2006

  • The First/Last/Next/Prev and the "Show my last search results" links at the top of a bug now work with multiple searches, so doing a new search won't "clobber" your old list.

    Planet Mozilla 2010

  • Barbour singled out the President's proposed cap and trade system to control greenhouse gasses, saying that the potential cost would "clobber" families.

    Consumer Reports Electronics Blog 2009

  • Barbour singled out the President's proposed cap and trade system to control greenhouse gasses, saying that the potential cost would "clobber" families.

    Consumer Reports Electronics Blog 2009

Comments

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  • "Oriel doesn't realize it, but she begins to dress Fish like an idiot, the way people clothe big sadfaced mongoloids. She hoiks his trousers up under his arms with a belt so long it flaps. She combs his hair straight down on this brow and shines his shoes till they mock him. The reason Oriel doesn't notice is that Quick gets to him early after breakfast and drags the clobber round on him, messes him up like a boy, normal and slouchy."

    Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, p 70 of the Graywolf Press hardcover edition

    March 31, 2010

  • bookmarked

    July 9, 2011