birches 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of birch
1
as in whips
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible students at the private school were once routinely birched for violating the rules

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly always a stern disciplinarian, our father birched anyone who talked back

Synonyms & Similar Words

birches

2 of 2

noun

plural of birch
as in hickories

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birches
  1. whips
  2. licks
  3. crops
  4. hides
  5. lashes
  6. straps
  7. slashes
  8. pounds
Verb
  • Castro whips her head around and follows him, punching him in the back.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Green whips out his phone with the fluid motion of a digital native and snaps a photo.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of whips
Verb
  • That glib self-confidence is present in McNamara, who licks the doughnut glaze off his fingers before offering his hand to the female detective questioning the one living Jason.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Later, a woman protractedly licks blue ice cream from a cone, her attempts thwarted by ferocious gusts of wind and sand.
    — Matilda Hague, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of licks
Noun
  • Similarly, applying salty whey to land can affect crops and soil health.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Drought has disrupted berry crops and other natural food sources that bears depend on, sending them closer to humans and into garage cans, bird feeders and chicken coops.
    — N. Kirkpatrick, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of crops
Verb
  • That gap is where debt hides until something goes wrong across agents and everyone can say their piece worked as designed.
    — Venkatesh Sankaran, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The league usually hides these blunders behind closed doors and quiet internal grading-system tweaks.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of hides
Verb
  • Alpha 1, who’s most strict about the disease’s suppression, lashes out uncontrollably.
    — Cortlyn Kelly, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The best mascaras for older women help coat lashes with color while addressing the annoying issues that come with age.
    — Micaela English, Glamour, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of lashes
Noun
  • Another sandal featured a curvaceous assortment of thin straps.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • At Dior, footwear designer Nina Christen offered up sexy Dior-charmed T-straps and plenty of toe cleavage.
    — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of straps
Verb
  • Northrop Grumman slashes overall weight and reduces total part counts, manufacturing combat-ready autonomous jets at a fraction of typical costs.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The company wants Starship to be a fully and rapidly reusable transport system that slashes the cost of spaceflight.
    — Sven Bilén, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of slashes
Verb
  • Higher prices come as Ukraine pounds Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Part of the problem is that every summer, water pounds down on sidewalks in the Treasure Valley, drops rippling on glassy reflective surfaces, all because of sprinkler jets overshooting the grass and landing on pavement.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounds
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

birched
birches
birching
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Cite this Entry

“Birches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birches. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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