drub

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

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🗓️ 5 December 2024

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 5, 2024 is:

drub • \DRUB\ • verb

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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Examples:

“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.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the word of the day for December 5th.
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0:42.1	Today's word is drub spelled D-R-U-B.
0:46.2	Drup is a verb.
0:47.1	To drub an individual or team as in a game or contest is to defeat them decisively.
0:53.9	Here's the word used in a sentence from the Associated Press by David Brandt.
0:57.6	Dallas looked like one of the best teams in the NFL through two weeks,
1:02.6	drubbing the Giants 40 to 0 in week one and beating the Jets 30 to 10 in week two.
1:09.2	Sports writers often use the word drub when a team they are covering is
1:13.8	drubbed, that is routed. But the term's history reveals that it wasn't always a sporting word.
1:20.6	When drub was first used in English, it referred to a method of punishment that involved
1:25.7	beating the souls of the accused's feet with a stick
1:29.6	or cudgel. The term was apparently brought to England in the 17th century by travelers who
1:35.3	reported observing the punitive practice abroad. The ultimate origin of drub is uncertain, but the
1:42.1	etymological culprit may be the Arabic word Daraba, meaning to beat.
1:47.3	Over the centuries, Drub developed the additional milder and now more common meanings of to berate
1:53.8	critically and to defeat decisively.
1:56.6	With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
	...

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