whups

verb

present tense third-person singular of whup
1
as in whips
to defeat by a large margin in the summer box office sweepstakes, most of the Hollywood blockbusters got whupped by a small indie movie with no stars

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly a boxer whupping a badly outmatched opponent

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whups
  1. whips
  2. licks
  3. bombs
  4. pounds
  5. clobbers
  6. hides
  7. overcomes
  8. slaps
Verb
  • Instead of floating crosses in, Saka either whips his deliveries low near the six-yard box or works a slightly more central position to cut the ball back with a firmer connection.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • The vessel bends, blocks, and whips the wind into complex micro-currents before the air ever hits the sails.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 June 2026
Definition of whips
Verb
  • That glib self-confidence is present in McNamara, who licks the doughnut glaze off his fingers before offering his hand to the female detective questioning the one living Jason.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Later, a woman protractedly licks blue ice cream from a cone, her attempts thwarted by ferocious gusts of wind and sand.
    — Matilda Hague, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of licks
Verb
  • The campus is eerily silent, even as Israel attacks Lebanon and the United States bombs Iran.
    — Jonathan Zimmerman, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2026
  • The United States bombs Iran's nuclear facilities days later.
    — Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 1 Mar. 2026
Definition of bombs
Verb
  • Part of the problem is that every summer, water pounds down on sidewalks in the Treasure Valley, drops rippling on glassy reflective surfaces, all because of sprinkler jets overshooting the grass and landing on pavement.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine pounds Russia with long-range strikes At the same time, Ukraine has shifted the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities that have caused fuel shortages across Russia.
    — Volodymyr Yurchuk, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounds
Verb
  • Aledo clobbers Abilene in one game Aledo (29-10) only needed five innings to take care of Abilene (27-12-1) in one game, winner takes all Class 5A Division I regional final.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 May 2026
Definition of clobbers
Verb
  • Walruses were once hunted in vast numbers, for their blubber, hides and ivory, driving them close to extinction in Svalbard’s waters, before hunting was banned in 1952.
    — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • There clearly continues to be something very evocative about the idea that all the mundane pop-culture ephemera from one’s youth hides something darker.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of hides
Verb
  • Overcoming physical barriers The plasma centrifuge overcomes these physical barriers.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Used in the group’s previous drone research, this landing gear disperses energy to reduce impact and overcomes multiple engineering challenges.
    — Tim Hornyak, IEEE Spectrum, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcomes
Verb
  • Soto, looking irritated, reaches out and slaps him upside the head.
    — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Helmut Haller, West Germany vs England, 1966 Ray Wilson misjudges his headed clearance, Haller gathers it on the edge of the box and, just before Bobby Moore can close him down, slaps a right-footed shot into the far corner.
    — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
Definition of slaps
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.

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whupping
whups
why
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Cite this Entry

“Whups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whups. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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