trounce

verb

ˈtrau̇n(t)s How to pronounce trounce (audio)
trounced; trouncing
Synonyms of trouncenext

transitive verb

: to thrash or punish severely
especially : to defeat decisively
trounced the rival team

Synonyms of trounce

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of trounce in a Sentence

our candidate trounced her opponent in the election, winning with 76% of the vote
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Trump trounced Democrat Kamala Harris by 11 points in Miami-Dade in November 2024 to win Florida for the third presidential election in a row. — Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2026 The Brewers won three of four from the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers last weekend and trounced Seattle 22-0 on Tuesday before their four-game winning streak ended with a 7-5 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday. — ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026 Walton Johnson trounced former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh with about 53% of the vote, according to unofficial results. — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026 And even with a recession to date, English teams’ spending is hardly in terminal decline and still trounces that of all other nations. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for trounce

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trounce was in 1868

Rhymes for trounce

See All Rhymes for trounce

Browse Nearby Words

trou madame
trounce
trouncer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Trounce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trounce. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

trounce

verb
ˈtrau̇n(t)s How to pronounce trounce (audio)
trounced; trouncing
: to thrash or punish severely
especially : to defeat thoroughly
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All