Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

take a licking

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English

Syllables
take a lick-ing
IPA
23
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To suffer a defeat or a beating.

Slang

Usage

Inflected Forms

takes a licking (present, singular) taking a licking (participle, present) took a licking (past) taken a licking (participle, past)

Phrases

take a licking and keep on ticking

Questions

What does take a licking mean?
To suffer a defeat or a beating.

How to pronounce take a licking

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “take a licking”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “take a licking”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “take a licking” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.