pummel

verb

pum·​mel ˈpə-məl 

pummeled also pummelled; pummeling also pummelling ˈpə-mə-liŋ 

ˈpəm-liŋ

: pound, beat

Synonyms

• bash
• baste
• bat
• batter
• beat
• belabor
• belt
• birch
• bludgeon
• buffet
• bung up
• club
• curry
• do
• drub
• fib [British]
• flog
• hammer
• hide
• lace
• lambaste
• lambast
• lash
• lather
• lick
• maul
• mess (up)
• paddle
• pelt
• pommel
• pound
• punch out
• rough (up)
• slate
• slog
• switch
• tan
• thrash
• thresh
• thump
• tromp
• wallop
• whale
• whip
• whop
• whap
• whup
• work over

Examples of pummel in a Sentence

pummeled the mugger with her fists until help arrived

Recent Examples on the Web

Lake effect snow has already pummeled some parts of Michigan this winter, and more is forecast to fall. —Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 12 Dec. 2024

The sprawling community was pummeled almost daily by Israeli warplanes, with a final surge just before a 60-day truce starting Nov. 27. —Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2024

Sure, you get pummeled by giant monsters, from griffins and ogres to lumbering cyclopses, but more than honing your combat skills, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is about moving through an bucolic open world teeming with interactive possibilities. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024

Record tax increases have pummeled city homeowners too; and Chicago is a tenth of a point shy of the highest sales taxes in the nation. —Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of pommel

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pummel

verb

pum·​mel ˈpəm-əl 

pummeled or pummelled; pummeling or pummelling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: pound entry 3 sense 2a, beat

knead and pummel the dough

2

: to defeat decisively

pummeled the competition