LAMBAST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lambast mean? 

• LAMBAST (verb)
  The verb LAMBAST has 2 senses:

1. beat with a cane

2. censure severely or angrily

  Familiarity information: LAMBAST used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LAMBAST (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they lambast    ... he / she / it lambasts   
Past simple: lambasted   
Past participle: lambasted   
-ing form: lambasting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Beat with a cane

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

cane; flog; lambast; lambaste

Hypernyms (to "lambast" is one way to...):

beat; beat up; work over (give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to lambast the prisoners

Sense 2

Meaning:

Censure severely or angrily

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bawl out; berate; call down; call on the carpet; chew out; chew up; chide; dress down; have words; jaw; lambast; lambaste; lecture; rag; rebuke; remonstrate; reprimand; scold; take to task; trounce

Context example:

The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup

Hypernyms (to "lambast" is one way to...):

criticise; criticize; knock; pick apart (find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lambast"):

castigate; chasten; chastise; correct; objurgate (censure severely)

brush down; tell off (reprimand)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot lambast Sue

 Context examples 

I'm a-thinkin' that was the one I lambasted with the club.

(White Fang, by Jack London)