as in hammering
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1
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
pounding down the road as fast as he could run
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in banging
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
pounding nails into boards all day long
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
during the storm the waves furiously pounded the beach
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in drawing
to shape with a hammer
pounding out a depression in the metal
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in grinding
to reduce to fine particles
the tablet may be pounded and mixed in with the animal's food
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pounding
Joan Morris, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2026
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians.
—Serra Yedikardes, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians.
—ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026
However, while chemically the same, beach sand is made up of tiny crystals of quartz that have been pulverized by geological weathering and the pounding of ocean waves.
—John Ballato, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026
This section of shoreline is lined with cliffs, below which are sea caves, formed over centuries by the relentless pounding of Lake Superior waves.
—Stephanie Pearson, Outside, 19 Feb. 2026
The memories remained from crawling across the balcony, the pounding on the chamber doors, the screams echoing through the rotunda.
—Norma Torres, Oc Register, 6 Jan. 2026
In that room, Cristobal didn’t come down hard on his staff, no yelling or pounding of the table.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Had the pounding on his front door happened just a little later in the afternoon, Eads would most likely have returned home to learn of a tragedy.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
Peter White, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2026
But Ragans shook off the damage and kept pounding the strike zone.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2026
Most rooms have statement headboards and every one has a bathtub that calls to you after a day of pounding the pavements.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
The percussion does a lot of the heavy lifting, as Skye’s lofty falsetto is paired with slinky tambourines and a pounding kick drum.
—Cameron Cook, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2026
The incident occurred right after Quinton Byfield was stopped on a penalty shot by Wedgewood and fans began to celebrate by pounding on the glass.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
That can help Şengün get deep touches in the paint without pounding the ball and bleeding so much time off the clock.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Workers and technicians are hammering away in preparation for the return of Blue Man Group to Orlando, right down to the placement and pounding of PVC pipes, one of the ensemble’s distinctive musical instruments.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2026
The video shows the pacing man pounding on the front door and attempting to kick it in before yanking down a hanging doorbell fixture near the entryway and hurling it at the doorway.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
Another popular belief is that the pounding of the raindrops on the ground mimics the sound of moles hunting for food, and the worms flee to escape being on the mole’s menu.
—Joan Morris, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2026
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians.
—Serra Yedikardes, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians.
—ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026
However, while chemically the same, beach sand is made up of tiny crystals of quartz that have been pulverized by geological weathering and the pounding of ocean waves.
—John Ballato, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026
This section of shoreline is lined with cliffs, below which are sea caves, formed over centuries by the relentless pounding of Lake Superior waves.
—Stephanie Pearson, Outside, 19 Feb. 2026
The memories remained from crawling across the balcony, the pounding on the chamber doors, the screams echoing through the rotunda.
—Norma Torres, Oc Register, 6 Jan. 2026
In that room, Cristobal didn’t come down hard on his staff, no yelling or pounding of the table.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Had the pounding on his front door happened just a little later in the afternoon, Eads would most likely have returned home to learn of a tragedy.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
Verb
From tracking down a missing student in the wilderness of British Columbia to extracting a murder confession from a surfer in Tofino, Shade and Angie prove life on the West Coast is packed with heart-pounding thrills.
—Peter White, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2026
But Ragans shook off the damage and kept pounding the strike zone.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2026
Most rooms have statement headboards and every one has a bathtub that calls to you after a day of pounding the pavements.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
The percussion does a lot of the heavy lifting, as Skye’s lofty falsetto is paired with slinky tambourines and a pounding kick drum.
—Cameron Cook, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2026
The incident occurred right after Quinton Byfield was stopped on a penalty shot by Wedgewood and fans began to celebrate by pounding on the glass.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
That can help Şengün get deep touches in the paint without pounding the ball and bleeding so much time off the clock.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Workers and technicians are hammering away in preparation for the return of Blue Man Group to Orlando, right down to the placement and pounding of PVC pipes, one of the ensemble’s distinctive musical instruments.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2026
The video shows the pacing man pounding on the front door and attempting to kick it in before yanking down a hanging doorbell fixture near the entryway and hurling it at the doorway.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pounding
Noun
-
The tap-tap-tap hammering up and down my spine and around my shoulder blades actually soothed me nearly to sleep.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
In non-CinemaCon news, the looksmaxx influencer managed to unite the internets in mocking his dew-eyed meltdown and interview walk-off over being asked modestly difficult questions about his reputation (instead of being asked, say, which moisturizer is best for post-jaw hammering).—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There was major line shuffling overall by Cooper on this night, not just Kucherov, but tweaks to three lines, which ended up looking a little different than what was shown in pregame warmup.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
YoshimiO, sharing fellow ’90s icon Flea’s recent interest in the instrument, turns in a credible trumpet line during the track’s shuffling, exuberant second half.—
Reed Jackson,
SPIN,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jurors then heard sounds of banging and choking — and Athena screaming and crying, the Star-Telegram reports.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
On the night he was arrested, Martinez confessed to shaking Heather and banging her head against a crib, but later recanted that confession.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maximilien, a French national, allegedly uploaded a clip of himself licking a straw from an iJooz vending machine before putting it back in the dispenser.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
There’s Cassie licking a melting ice cream cone as the ice cream drips down her bare chest.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The court issued a ruling that limits consideration of race in drawing voting maps — potentially a boon for Republicans, who have been hampered by the civil rights law in their attempt to redraw maps in Louisiana, Alabama and other states.—
Matthew Choi,
Washington Post,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Sheriff Susan Hutson became the face of the investigation, giving updates at news conferences and drawing scrutiny over the jail failures.—
Greg Hilburn,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Their experiments confirmed that adding a single squirt of water to coffee beans before grinding can significantly reduce the static electric charge on the resulting grounds.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 Apr. 2026
-
This stock was a disaster from May 2025 through the November lows near $48, losing roughly half its value in a grinding downtrend.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Arsenal enters the match as the favorite, but Sporting has been resilient in the Champions League, rebounding from a 3-0 loss to tournament darlings Bodo/Glimt with a 5-0 thrashing in Lisbon.—
Pueng Vongs,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
His only Champions League goal arrived in January’s 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag, and his only assists in the competition came in similarly comfortable wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That’s the sound of clogs slowly stomping back into the spotlight.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
5 Apr. 2026
-
For pretty much every gamer alive today, those first few notes induce an almost Pavlovian response — sparking an urge to grab a controller on your lap that isn’t actually there and bringing to mind comfortable, warm memories of stomping Goombas and riding Yoshi on a quest to save Princess Peach.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pounding. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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