thrash

B2 · Upper Intermediate Sports Informal

v. to beat an opponent or another team by a very large score.

v. to defeat an opponent utterly or decisively in a competition or contest.

“Our local team managed to thrash the champions four-nil in a surprise victory.”

“The incumbent candidate thrashed his rival in the primary election, securing a majority in nearly every district.”

C1 · Advanced Literary

v. to hit a person or animal many times as a punishment.

v. to beat mercilessly or repeatedly, typically with a stick or whip.

“In the old novel, the cruel master threatened to thrash the servant for being late.”

“The historical account describes how prisoners were thrashed for the slightest infractions of the camp's arbitrary rules.”

C2 · Proficiency Computing Technical

v. when a computer spends all its time moving data instead of doing work, making it very slow.

v. to undergo poor performance in a virtual memory system where excessive paging prevents productive processing.

“The server started to thrash because too many heavy applications were running at once.”

“System throughput plummeted as the machine began to thrash, with the hard drive light remaining solid due to constant page swaps.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Music Informal

n. a fast and loud type of heavy metal music.

n. a subgenre of heavy metal music characterised by its fast tempo and overall aggression.

“He spent his teenage years listening to thrash and playing the drums.”

“The band's early work is considered a cornerstone of eighties thrash, blending punk speed with complex guitar structures.”