What does "trounce" mean?
An act of trouncing: a severe beating, a thrashing; a thorough defeat.
Trounce
/tɹaʊns/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of trouncing: a severe beating, a thrashing; a thorough defeat.
- Grammar: trounce is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: beat, whip, annihilates, assail.
- Useful contrasts: lose.
- Usage evidence: He would surely trounce them all, on account of being a professional.
How to use "trounce"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trounce" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trounce" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of trouncing: a severe beating, a thrashing; a thorough defeat.
"He sprang on his prey with a pounce, / And he gave it a jerk and a trounce; / Then crunched up its bones / On the grass or the stones, / This carnivoristicous Ounce, / 'Ticous Ounce! / This carnivoristicous Ounce!"
- 2 A walk involving some difficulty or effort; a trek, a tramp, a trudge. British, dialectal
"An' what a trounce it's bin! I declare to goodness I'm as out o' wynt as an owd pair o' ballis, wi' walkin so far."
- 3 A journey involving quick travel; also, one that is dangerous or laborious. British, dialectal
"Sec a trounce we've hed ower t' fells!"
Verb
- 1 To beat severely; to thrash. transitive
"I tell you, I meane to trounce him after twenty in the hundred, and have a bout with him with two ſtaves and a pike for this geare."
- 2 To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge. British, dialectal, intransitive
"There were no railways then—well, not in Hazelworth, at any rate—and as coach-fares would have absorbed most of our stock of "Sunday pennies," we had to "trounce" every inch of our way to Manchester."
- 3 censure severely or angrily wordnet
- 4 To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin. transitive
"The Mexican team trounced the Americans by 10 goals to 1."
- 5 To pass across or over; to traverse. British, dialectal, intransitive
""And at school everyone knows I'm Dana Winslow's younger sister. Mr. Johnson, the science teacher, even calls me Dana sometimes." / Dana looked up then. "Do you answer him?" / "I have to. If I don't he thinks I'm not participating." Aly got up and trounced over to the bookcase."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 come out better in a competition, race, or conflict wordnet
- 7 To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language. transitive
"Say I, write I, or dooe I, what I can, he will haunt and trounce me perpetually, with ſpiritiſh workes of ſupererogation, inceſſant tormentours of the civilian and devine."
- 8 To travel quickly over a long distance. British, dialectal, intransitive
"Lyra trounces into the kitchen, a smile on her face. "Good morning, everyone! Morning, Grandpa. Morning, Gramps.""
- 9 beat severely with a whip or rod wordnet
- 10 To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue. British, regional, transitive
"Slept hard till 8 o'clock, then waked by Mr. Clerke's being come to consult me about Field's business, which we did by calling him up to my bedside, and he says we shall trounce him."
Antonyms
Example
"He would surely trounce them all, on account of being a professional."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trounce"?
Common synonyms include: beat, whip, annihilates, assail, attack, baste.
How do you use "trounce" in a sentence?
He would surely trounce them all, on account of being a professional.
How do you pronounce "trounce"?
Pronounced /tɹaʊns/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The origin of the verb is unknown; it is perhaps related to Old French troncer, troncher, troncir, tronchir (“to cut; to cut a piece from; to retrench”), from Old French tronce, tronche (“stump; piece of wood”). However, the English and Old French words differ in meaning. The noun is derived from the verb.
Etymology 2
The verb is derived from Middle English traunce, trauncen, trancen (“to move about (?); to prance (?); to trample the ground”) (whence modern English trance with the same senses), possibly either: * from Middle English trauncen, transen (“to pass from life to death, die”), from Old French transir (“to cut through, pass through”), from Latin trānsīre, present active infinitive of trānseō (“to cross, traverse; to go over (to a side or faction); to pass over; to exceed, surpass; of time: to elapse, pass; (figuratively) to cease, pass away”), from trāns (“across; beyond”) + eō (“to go”); or * a blend of Middle English tramplen (“to tread on, trample”) + dauncen (“to dance”) or prauncen (“to prance”). The noun is probably derived from the verb.