Word.ws English Dictionary

lash

UK/læʃ/

lash noun: the thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given.

lash: the thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given
Image: James Meese, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

lash (plural lashes)

  1. The thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given.
    • I observed that your whip wanted a lash to it.1711 July 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “TUESDAY, July 4, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 108; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New...
  2. (obsolete) A leash in which an animal is caught or held; hence, a snare.
  3. A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough, often given as a punishment.
    • The culprit received thirty-nine lashes.
  4. A quick and violent sweeping movement, as of an animal's tail; a swish.
  5. A stroke of satire or sarcasm; an expression or retort that cuts or gives pain; a cut.
    • The moral is a lash at the vanity of arrogating that to ourselves which succeeds well.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
  6. A hair growing from the edge of the eyelid; an eyelash.
    • But Richmond, his grandfather's darling, after one thoughtful glance cast under his lashes at that uncompromising countenance appeared to lose himself in his own reflections.1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax
  7. In carpet weaving, a group of strings for lifting simultaneously certain yarns, to form the figure.
  8. Flowering plants of genus Blepharis.
  9. (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, informal) An attempt; a go at something.
    • I'll have a lash.
    • Much-loved characters living on after their author’s death is not so unusual these days. Every second bloke in possession of a keyboard seems to have had a lash at a James Bond thriller, including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz...2021 August 28, Grant Smithies, “The Dark Remains: Ian Rankin's 'terrifying' return”, in Stuff
    Synonyms:
    bash
  10. A quantity, a great number or amount (e.g. of rain or milk).
    • the Ayrshire cow gives a lash of milk on comparatively bare pasture1883, Ontario Agricultural College, Annual Report of the Ontario School of Agriculture and Experimental Farm, page 163
    • The oaks cry oot beneath November's lashes, But not for all the months[…]1891, James Logie Robertson, Ochil Idylls: And Other Poems, page 23

Verb (1)

lash (third-person singular simple present lashes, present participle lashing, simple past and past participle lashed)

  1. (transitive) To strike with a lash; to whip or scourge with a lash, or with something like one.
    • We lash the pupil, and defraud the ward1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The First Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […]...
    • A lesbian who was lashed as a teenager for saying she was gay.1994 October, “Lesbian Launches Transkei Gay Group”, in Gay Community News, page 4
    Synonyms:
    whip
  2. (transitive) To strike forcibly and quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash.
    • Heavy seas lashed the shore.
    • (A swan) dashed suddenly forward with such a flutter that the water all round was lashed into foam.1866., Chatterbox, volume XXVI, United States, page 202
  3. (transitive) To throw out with a jerk or quickly.
    • He falls, and lashing up his heels, his rider throws.1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  4. (transitive) To scold; or to satirize; to censure with severity.
    Synonyms:
    berate
  5. (intransitive) To ply the whip; to strike.
  6. (intransitive) To strike vigorously; to let fly.
    • In the final minute of six added on, Colombia would undo their good work, though, Pérez fumbling the ball allowing Hemp to lash into the empty net.2023 August 12, Suzanne Wrack, “England hit back to beat Colombia and set up World Cup semi with Australia”, in The Guardian
  7. (intransitive) To utter censure or sarcastic language.
    • To laugh at follies, or to lash at vice.1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […]...
  8. (intransitive) To fall heavily, especially in the phrase lash down.
    • With rain lashing across the ground at kick-off and every man in Auckland seemingly either English-born or supporting Scotland, Eden Park was transformed into Murrayfield in March.2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport
  9. Used in phrasal verbs: lash back, lash out.

Verb (2)

lash (third-person singular simple present lashes, present participle lashing, simple past and past participle lashed)

  1. (transitive) To bind with a rope, cord, thong, or chain, so as to fasten.
    • to lash something to a spar
    • lash a pack on a horse's back

Adjective (1)

lash (comparative more lash, superlative most lash)

  1. (obsolete) Remiss, lax.
  2. (obsolete) Relaxed.
  3. Soft, watery, wet.
    • Fruits being unwholesome and lash before the fourth or fifth Yeare.1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 211
  4. (Ulster) Excellent, wonderful.
    • We’re off school tomorrow, it’s gonna be lash!
    • That Chinese (food) was lash!
  5. (UK, slang) Drunk.

Noun (2)

lash (uncountable)

  1. Looseness between fitted parts, either intentional (as allowance) or unintentional (from error or wear).
    • setting the proper valve lash for solid lifters
    • excessive lash in the gear train

Adjective (2) capitalized: LASH

LASH (not comparable)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of lighter-aboard-ship.

Proper noun capitalized: Lash

Lash (plural Lashes)

  1. A surname.

lash meaning in Nepali and Arabic

lash in Nepali

लश

lash in Arabic

stroke with a whip
جَلْدَة jalda
to strike with a lash
جَلَدَ jalada

Examples of lash in a sentence

  • “I felt I’d go out and grab the bull by the horns and give it a good lash and I’m very pleased to come away with second in my very first Diamond League final.”2022 September 9, Cathal Dennehy, “Ciara Mageean shines in Diamond League to claim second”, in Irish Examiner:
  • ... put a lash of scepticism in his tone.2014 April 22, John Creasey, The Theft of Magna Carta, House of Stratus, →ISBN, page 79:
  • Carlo Ancelotti's out-of-sorts team struggled to hit the target in the first half as Bolton threatened with Matthew Taylor lashing just wide.2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:

All 40 example sentences with lash

Synonyms of lash

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of lash

Forms of lash

Noun
plurallashes
Verb
third-person singular presentlashes
present participlelashing
past participlelashed
pastlashed
Adjective
comparativemore lash
superlativemost lash
Proper noun
pluralLashes

Past tense of lash: lashed

Plural of lash: lashes

Origin of lash

From Middle English lashe, lasshe, lasche (“a stroke; the flexible end of a whip”), from Proto-Germanic *laskô (“flap of fabric, strap”). Cognate with Dutch lasch, las (“a piece; seal; joint; notch; seam”), German Low German Laske, Lask (“a flap; dag; strap”), German Lasche (“a flap; joint; strap; tongue; scarf”), Swedish lask (“scarf”), Icelandic laski (“the bottom part of a glove”).

From Middle French lachier, from Old French lacier (“to lace”).

From Old French lasche (French lâche).

Words formed from lash

Phrases with lash

Words that rhyme with lash

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about lash

What does lash mean?
Lash means the thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given.
What is lash in Nepali?
Lash in Nepali is लश. See Lash meaning in Nepali.
How do you use lash in a sentence?
“I felt I’d go out and grab the bull by the horns and give it a good lash and I’m very pleased to come away with second in my very first Diamond League final.”
What part of speech is lash?
Lash can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce lash?
Lash is pronounced /læʃ/ (UK).
What is the plural of lash?
The plural of lash is lashes.

Words near lash in the dictionary

  1. lases
  2. Laseter
  3. Laseters
  4. lasgun
  5. lasguns
  6. lash
  7. lash back
  8. lash curler
  9. lash curlers
  10. lash down
  11. lash egg

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lash (page history and authors); LASH (page history and authors); Lash (page history and authors); lash (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-lash.ogg.

Cite this entry: “lash.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lash. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.