trounce

1. (transitive) To beat severely; to thrash.Examples: "I tell you, I meane to trounce him after twenty in the hundred, and have a bout with him with two ſtaves and a pike for this geare."; "There is a Law among them that whoſoever beats one of thoſe Clerks ſo, that his Cap fall to the ground, he is liable to a very ſevere penalty (if I well remember to looſe his hand) which nevertheleſs happens frequently in the Cabac: but to prevent the worſt when a Layman is minded to beat one of thoſe Muſhrooms, he firſt takes off his Cap and then trounces him off ſo long as he will, which done he ſets the Cap upon the right Block again."; "O yez; take notice! that the first bad boy I find killing an innocent bird, or trouncing a poor frog, I will have no mercy on him."transitive

2. (transitive) To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.Examples: "The Mexican team trounced the Americans by 10 goals to 1."; "Mar[ina]. Crowd the Fidler is not there: / And my mind delighted is / With no ſtroke ſo much as his. / Mop[so]. If not he, / There will bee / Drone the Piper that will trounce it. / Mar. But if Crowd / Struck alowd, / Lord me thinks how I could bounce it."; "What skill and dexterity soldiers, who are called together only once a week, may possess, in trouncing an enemy, which has already trounced half Europe, I will not pretend to determine; [...]"Synonyms: beat, bring down, chew up, eat someone for breakfast, eat someone's lunch, humble, kick ass, murdelizetransitive

3. (transitive) To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language.Examples: "Say I, write I, or dooe I, what I can, he will haunt and trounce me perpetually, with ſpiritiſh workes of ſupererogation, inceſſant tormentours of the civilian and devine."; "Though the senators are eminently courteous to each other, they have no more hesitation in speaking out their minds, upon occasion, than have the members of the House [of Representatives]. John P[arker] Hale, with [William Henry] Seward on his side, unmercifully trounces President [Franklin] Pierce and the slaveholders; and General [Lewis] Cass, helped out by Mr. [John Middleton] Clayton, most valiantly abuses England and Lord Palmerston."Synonyms: censure, rebuketransitive

4. (transitive, British, regional) To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue.Examples: "Slept hard till 8 o'clock, then waked by Mr. Clerke's being come to consult me about Field's business, which we did by calling him up to my bedside, and he says we shall trounce him."; "Whereupon Mr. Weaver did threaten them, and (to uſe his own Expreſſion) would cauſe them to be trounced, taking down their Names. And the Grand Jury broke up without acting."; "And I have yet to graſp you left a Claw, / I'll trounce you, Sir, I'll hamper you with Law; / Witneſs I have of all that has been Spoken, / I'll bring an Action, for your Contract broken; / For Damages ſuſtain'd, I'll make you rue, / In Doctor's-Commons play the Devil too."Britishregionaltransitive