licking

Plurallickings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   An act of passing the tongue over a surface or object.

   The dog's repeated licking of the wound only slowed its healing.

   A single licking of the envelope flap was enough to seal it shut.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of lick.

   The cat is licking milk from the saucer.

   She stood by the window licking an ice cream cone in the sun.

   Note

   This spelling does two grammatical jobs. As a participle it follows be (the cat is licking the saucer); as a gerund it heads a clause (licking stamps is tedious). The gerund takes its object directly, while the noun for the act needs of (the licking of the stamp). The verb's 'beat' and 'defeat' meanings are marked dated, and one slang meaning is vulgar, so context decides how the word lands.

3. 3
   nouncolloquialcountable

   A severe beating, often given as a punishment.

   Their father threatened a licking if they lied to him again.

   He took a fierce licking in the alley and limped home afterward.

   Similarbeating, thrashing, hiding, whipping, spanking

4. 4
   nouncolloquialusually singular

   A heavy or crushing defeat.

   The home team handed their rivals a serious licking on Saturday.

   After such a licking at the polls, the party rethought its whole strategy.

   Similardrubbing, thrashing, trouncing, hammering, rout

   Oppositevictory, win, triumph

   Note

   Defeat in this sense is usually something a side takes: a team takes a licking, and a party can take one at the polls. When the winner is the subject, the verb shifts to hand or give, as in handing rivals a licking. It carries the 'beating' meaning over into contests and stays informal, so it suits sports talk and casual speech better than formal reporting.

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