trounce
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trounce¹
- /tɹaʊns/ US, UK
Rhymes with -aʊns
Where it comes from
The origin of the verb is unknown; it is perhaps related to Old French troncer, troncher, troncir, tronchir (“to cut; to cut a piece from; to retrench”), from Old French tronce, tronche (“stump; piece of wood”). However, the English and Old French words differ in meaning.
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb trounces · trouncing · trounced
- To beat severely; to thrash. 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.
-
To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
The German team trounced the Brazilians by 7 goals to 1.
Similar: thump, rout, clobber, beat, bring down, convince, chew up, eat someone for breakfast, eat someone's lunch, flog, humble, kick ass
- To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language. 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.
- To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue. 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.
noun trounces
- An act of trouncing: a severe beating, a thrashing; a thorough defeat. He sprang on his prey with a pounce, / And he gave it a jerk and a trounce; / Then crunched up its bones / On the grass or the stones, / This carnivoristicous Ounce, / 'Ticous Ounce! / This carnivoristicous Ounce!
trounce²
- /tɹaʊns/ US, UK
Rhymes with -aʊns
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English traunce, trauncen, trancen (“to move about (?); to prance (?); to trample the ground”) (whence modern English trance with the same senses), possibly either:
* from Middle English trauncen, transen (“to pass from life to death, die”), from Old French transir (“to cut through, pass through”), from Latin trānsīre, present active infinitive of trānseō (“to cross, traverse; to go over (to a side or faction); to pass over; to exceed, surpass; of time: to elapse, pass; (figuratively) to cease, pass away”), from trāns (“across; beyond”) + eō (“to go”); or
* a blend of Middle English tramplen (“to tread on, trample”) + dauncen (“to dance”) or prauncen (“to prance”).
The noun is probably derived from the verb.
verb trounces · trouncing · trounced
-
To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
There were no railways then—well, not in Hazelworth, at any rate—and as coach-fares would have absorbed most of our stock of "Sunday pennies," we had to "trounce" every inch of our way to Manchester.
Similar: trance
-
To pass across or over; to traverse.
"And at school everyone knows I'm Dana Winslow's younger sister. Mr. Johnson, the science teacher, even calls me Dana sometimes." / Dana looked up then. "Do you answer him?" / "I have to. If I don't he thinks I'm not participating." Aly got up and trounced over to the bookcase.
Similar: trance
-
To travel quickly over a long distance.
Lyra trounces into the kitchen, a smile on her face. "Good morning, everyone! Morning, Grandpa. Morning, Gramps."
Similar: trance
noun trounces
- A walk involving some difficulty or effort; a trek, a tramp, a trudge. An' what a trounce it's bin! I declare to goodness I'm as out o' wynt as an owd pair o' ballis, wi' walkin so far.
-
A journey involving quick travel; also, one that is dangerous or laborious.
Sec a trounce we've hed ower t' fells!
Similar: trance
Translations
Every language
verb to beat severely — see also thrash
| 中文 | 痛擊 /痛击 tòngjī |
|---|---|
| Français | rosser, battre |
| Deutsch | verhauen, verprügeln, verkloppen, verklopfen |
| Italiano | battere, picchiare, bastonare |
verb to beat thoroughly, to defeat heavily
| Español | aplastar, dar una paliza |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 擊潰 /击溃 jīkuì |
| Français | écraser, pulvériser |
| Deutsch | vernichtend schlagen, einmachen, plattmachen |
| Italiano | surclassare, sbaragliare, stravincere, travolgere |
| Русский | разгромить razgromitʹ |
| עברית | הביס hevís |
verb to chastise or punish physically or verbally
| Deutsch | scharf zurechtweisen, zusammenstauchen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | castigare, punire, penalizzare |
verb to punish by bringing a lawsuit against — see also sue
| Deutsch | verklagen |
|---|
Talk about this word "trounce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/trounce. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. trounce. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/trounce "trounce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/trounce.Cite this
@misc{trounce_2026,
title = {trounce},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/trounce},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
