Word of the Day

: December 5, 2024

drub

verb DRUB

What It Means

To drub an individual or team, as in a game or contest, is to defeat them decisively.

// Morale after the game was low: the hometown team had been drubbed by the worst team in the league.

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drub in Context

“Dallas looked like one of the best teams in the NFL through two weeks, drubbing the Giants 40-0 in Week 1 and beating the Jets 30-10 in Week 2.” — David Brandt, The Associated Press, 24 Sept. 2023

Did You Know?

Sportswriters often use the word drub when a team they are covering is drubbed—that is, routed—but the term’s history reveals that it wasn’t always a sporting word. When drub was first used in English, it referred to a method of punishment that involved beating the soles of the accused’s feet with a stick or cudgel. The term was apparently brought to England in the 17th century by travelers who reported observing the punitive practice abroad. The ultimate origin of drub is uncertain, but the etymological culprit may be the Arabic word ḍaraba, meaning “to beat.” Over the centuries, drub developed the additional milder, and now more common, meanings of “to berate critically” and “to defeat decisively.”