English Reference

Idiom

lick one's wounds

Meaning

To withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat; to recuperate.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples

“He went home to lick his wounds after losing the game.”

“After the company lost the big contract, the team spent the weekend licking their wounds before planning their next move.”

“Following the crushing defeat in the election, the candidate retreated to his private estate to lick his wounds and reflect on his future in politics.”

Examples

simple

“He went home to lick his wounds after losing the game.”

contextual

“After the company lost the big contract, the team spent the weekend licking their wounds before planning their next move.”

complex

“Following the crushing defeat in the election, the candidate retreated to his private estate to lick his wounds and reflect on his future in politics.”

Key words

Related idioms

This entry

Updated
English Reference