trounce
/tɹaʊns/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "There is a Law among them that whoſoever beats one of thoſe Clerks ſo, that his Cap fall to the ground, he is liable to a very ſevere penalty (if I well remember to looſe his hand) which nevertheleſs happens frequently in the Cabac: but to prevent the worſt when a Layman is minded to beat one of thoſe Muſhrooms, he firſt takes off his Cap and then trounces him off ſo long as he will, which done he ſets the Cap upon the right Block again."
- "O yez; take notice! that the first bad boy I find killing an innocent bird, or trouncing a poor frog, I will have no mercy on him."
- "Tom was so stunned that he had not even presence of mind enough to say "Who cares, Miss Smarty?" until the right time to say it had gone by. So he said nothing. But he was in a fine rage, nevertheless. He moped into the schoolyard wishing she were a boy, and imagining how he would trounce her if she were."
- "‘Seize me these runnion caitiffs, trounce them, bounce them, bolt and shackle them!’"
- "The German team trounced the Brazilians by 7 goals to 1."
Etymology
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.
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɹaʊns/
- British English: /tɹaʊns/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- British usage
- Intransitive verb