birching

verb

present participle of birch
1
as in whipping
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible students at the private school were once routinely birched for violating the rules

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly always a stern disciplinarian, our father birched anyone who talked back

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birching
  1. whipping
  2. licking
  3. hiding
  4. lashing
  5. slashing
  6. pounding
  7. flogging
  8. battering
Verb
  • And a Cut Absolute is whipping around upon seeing the person and walking away.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 29 June 2026
  • Patrick Evans made it to the top step of the Motocross Best Trick event with his electric bike, whipping out a no-handed front flip to loud cheers from the crowd before climbing back up the ramp to celebrate.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 28 June 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • But the Carolinas have their own ways of making barbecue finger-licking.
    — Amethyst Ganaway, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
  • France’s Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, who each already have four goals in the tournament, will be licking their lips.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 30 June 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • Failing to disclose or intentionally hiding assets can make a prenup more vulnerable to being challenged in court.
    — Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • The find suggests one of NASA’s most successful planet hunters may still have plenty of surprises hiding in its archives.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 6 July 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • Unfortunately, this can lead to some individuals lashing out in response to their own insecurities, hate and low bar of aptitude, which is confirmed by the tenor of the attacks.
    — Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster is apologizing after lashing out at a critic.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • Then Ferrari’s team reboots the underlying technology—centralizing server costs, cleaning up sprawling codebases—while slashing costs.
    — Chris Dobstaff, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Higgins said her solution is to speed up permitting by slashing red tape — both for these types of large, city projects and for home and business owners trying to install resilient upgrades.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • America is better when Paul Skenes is embarrassing hitters with Livvy in the stands pounding Miller Lites.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • The heart-pounding encounter ended with the calf reunited with its mother, dramatic photos on a cellphone — and the couple continuing on to catch brook trout.
    — Kate Brumback, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • So, that is one gig at a completely unnecessary addition to the sports calendar, created by corporate interests for the sole intention of flogging products to people who do not really like sport… and another at the Enhanced Games.
    — Matt Slater, New York Times, 23 May 2026
  • In an even more meta moment, Amazon interrupted its own Upfront with actual ads with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo flogging certain items to an increasingly frustrated audience.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Definition of flogging
Verb
  • Vanity Fair reported that he was sentenced to 60 days in jail after being convicted of misdemeanor battery against a girlfriend, and was later charged with battering his third wife, Joanna Ferrell.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 28 June 2026
  • In an effort to turn the tables on Russia’s grinding war of attrition, Ukrainian long-range drones have for months been battering targets, including oil production and energy facilities, behind the front line and deep inside Russia.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 June 2026
Definition of battering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

birches
birching
bird
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Cite this Entry

“Birching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birching. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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