What does "lash" mean?
Lash: A leash in which an animal is caught or held; hence, a snare. [Obs.]
Additional senses
- 2.A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough; as, the culprit received thirty-nine lashes.
- 3.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. L'Estrange.
- 4.A hair growing from the edge of the eyelid; an eyelash.
- 5.In carpet weaving, a group of strings for lifting simultaneously certain yarns, to form the figure.
- 6.To strike with a lash ; to whip or scourge with a lash, or with something like one. We lash the pupil, and defraud the ward. Dryden.
- 7.To strike forcibly and quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash; as, a whale lashes the sea with his tail. And big waves lash the frighted shores. Dryden.
- 8.To throw out with a jerk or quickly. He falls, and lashing up his heels, his rider throws. Dryden.
- 9.To scold; to berate; to satirize; to censure with severity; as, to lash vice.
- 10.,. v. i. To ply the whip; to strike; to uttercensure or sarcastic language. To laugh at follies, or to lash at vice. Dryden. To lash out, to strike out wildly or furiously.
- 11.To bind with a rope, cord, thong, or chain, so as to fasten; as, to lash something to a spar; to lash a pack on a horse's back.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00