Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
thrash - 9 dictionary results

thrash

  [thrash] ,
Use thrash in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to beat soundly in punishment; flog.
2. to defeat thoroughly: The home team thrashed the visitors.
3. Nautical. to force (a close-hauled sailing ship under heavy canvas) against a strong wind or sea.
4. thresh.
–verb (used without object)
5. to toss, or plunge about.
6. Nautical. to make way against the wind, tide, etc.; beat.
7. thresh.
–noun
8. an act or instance of thrashing; beating; blow.
9. thresh.
10. Swimming. the upward and downward movement of the legs, as in the crawl.
11. British Slang. a party, usually with drinks.
—Verb phrase
12. thrash out or over, to talk over thoroughly and vigorously in order to reach a decision, conclusion, or understanding; discuss exhaustively.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME thrasshen, var. of thresshen to thresh

Synonyms:
1. maul, drub. See beat.

thresh

  [thresh] ,
–verb (used with object)
1. to separate the grain or seeds from (a cereal plant or the like) by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail or by the action of a threshing machine.
2. to beat as if with a flail.
–verb (used without object)
3. to thresh wheat, grain, etc.
4. to deliver blows as if with a flail.
–noun
5. the act of threshing.
—Verb phrase
6. thresh out or over. thrash (def. 12).
Also, thrash.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME threschen, thresshen, OE threscan; c. G dreschen, Goth thriskan; akin to D dorsen, ON thriskja
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To thrash
speed metal  
n.  Heavy metal music that is exceptionally harsh and fast. Also called thrash.
thrash   (thrāsh)   
v.   thrashed, thrash·ing, thrash·es

v.   tr.
  1. To beat with or as if with a flail, especially as a punishment. See Synonyms at beat.
  2. To swing or strike in a manner suggesting the action of a flail: The alligator thrashed its tail.
  3. To defeat utterly; vanquish.
  4. To thresh.
  5. To sail (a boat) against opposing winds or tides.
v.   intr.
  1. To move wildly or violently: thrashed about all night.
  2. To strike or flail.
  3. To thresh.
  4. To sail against opposing tides or winds.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of thrashing.
  2. Music See speed metal.
Phrasal Verb(s):
thrash outTo discuss fully.

[Variant of thresh.]
thrash'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Thrash

Thrash\, Thresh \Thresh\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thrashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Thrashing.] [OE. [thorn]reschen, [thorn]reshen, to beat, AS. [thorn]erscan, [thorn]rescan; akin to D. dorschen, OD. derschen, G. dreschen, OHG. dreskan, Icel. [thorn]reskja, Sw. tr["o]ska, Dan. t[ae]rske, Goth. [thorn]riskan, Lith. traszketi to rattle, Russ. treskate to burst, crackle, tresk' a crash, OSlav. troska a stroke of lighting. Cf. Thresh.]

1. To beat out grain from, as straw or husks; to beat the straw or husk of (grain) with a flail; to beat off, as the kernels of grain; as, to thrash wheat, rye, or oats; to thrash over the old straw.

The wheat was reaped, thrashed, and winnowed by machines. --H. Spencer.

2. To beat soundly, as with a stick or whip; to drub.

Thrash

Thrash\, Thresh \Thresh\, v. t. 1. To practice thrashing grain or the like; to perform the business of beating grain from straw; as, a man who thrashes well.

2. Hence, to labor; to toil; also, to move violently.

I rather would be M[ae]vius, thrash for rhymes, Like his, the scorn and scandal of the times. --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : thrash
Spanish: azotar,
German: verdreschen,
Japanese: ひどく打つ
More Translations »

thrash

vi. To move wildly or violently, without accomplishing anything useful. Paging or swapping systems that are overloaded waste most of their time moving data into and out of core (rather than performing useful computation) and are therefore said to thrash. Someone who keeps changing his mind (esp. about what to work on next) is said to be thrashing. A person frantically trying to execute too many tasks at once (and not spending enough time on any single task) may also be described as thrashing. Compare multitask.
Jargon File 4.2.0
Cite This Source

thrash 
1588, "to separate grains from wheat, etc., by beating," dial. variant of threshen (see thresh). Sense of "beat (someone) with (or as if with) a flail" is first recorded 1606. Meaning "to make wild movements like those of a flail or whip" is attested from 1846. Type of fast heavy metal music first called by this name 1982.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

thrash
To move wildly or violently, without accomplishing anything useful. Paging or swapping systems that are overloaded waste most of their time moving data into and out of core (rather than performing useful computation) and are therefore said to thrash. Thrashing can also occur in a cache due to cache conflict or in a multiprocessor (see ping-pong).
Someone who keeps changing his mind (especially about what to work on next) is said to be thrashing. A person frantically trying to execute too many tasks at once (and not spending enough time on any single task) may also be described as thrashing.
Compare multitask.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Search another word or see thrash on Thesaurus | Reference