Thesaurus results for CLOCKING

clocking

verb

present participle of clock

as in hitting

to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner sick of being insulted, he swung around and clocked his tormentor hard enough to knock him off his bar stool

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of clocking Forced to deliver a manuscript, Maria writes an autobiography clocking in at a shade over 200 pages. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026 Route 132 is Quebec’s longest highway, clocking in at just under 1,000 miles—and a large portion of the road winds around the Gaspé Peninsula, part of Quebec’s maritime region. — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2026 In recent years, however, between the endless paid-for invites and choreographed step and repeats, going out can feel like clocking into another job. — Amy Francombe, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2026 Trump’s approval rating is clocking in at roughly 38%, according to The New York Times polling average, which pins his disapproval at about 59%. — Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026 With more of us clocking double-digit hours of daily screen time, the appeal of a low-strain, blue-light-free display has grown well beyond the reading crowd. — New Atlas, 14 Sep. 2026 Amid rising geopolitical tensions and a murky economic outlook, anxiety is clocking into work, producing false positives in productivity that look like engagement, but are actually a precursor to costly attrition and reputation loss. — Stacey Zolt Hara, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026 Consistent viewers of British imports on big and small screens — TV shows like Harlots, movies like Rose of Nevada and The Personal History of David Copperfield — have been clocking her work for years. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2026 Johnson really went on a run of clocking this man’s hairline. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clocking

Verb

The national Democratic effort to defeat Collins kept going; now the party is spending millions on an ad hitting her for a ProPublica story about her links to a corrupt defense contractor.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Last year in Arizona, a motorcyclist was fatally injured after hitting a Waymo and being flung into the road.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of hitting

Verb

Bella chews him out for punching Angus in the face right before Angus’s big presentation, which Johnny knew about because they were supposed to throw a return supper for him, a dinner Johnny was supposed to cook.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Castro whips her head around and follows him, punching him in the back.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of punching

Verb

For the hearing impaired, select rooms feature visual fire alarms plus signals for telephone ringing and door knocking.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Political handicapping has a way of knocking people down a couple of notches.

— Nathan Gonzales CQ-Roll Call, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of knocking

Verb

Iran has tried to push world energy prices higher with attacks on the region's oil shipping routes; the United States, in turn, has aimed to wreck Iran's economy by blockading its ports since June and slapping it with increasingly tough sanctions.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
The officers walked over to the man and told him to place his hands behind his back, slapping him in cuffs in front of customers and coworkers.

— Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of slapping

Verb

Donalds’ speech ran the gamut of Republican campaign points, from slamming COVID lockdowns to border crossings.

— Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
On the same day, HHS senior adviser Calley Means doubled down on the claim, posting on X that Kennedy is doing so well that Democratic operatives are slamming the FDA for doing its job by conducting food recalls.

— Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of slamming

Verb

But Varma and Shivam Dube (27) upped the ante in the final three overs by smacking 57 runs against Sufyan Moqim, Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Carrington was ejected from the game in the first half after smacking Cunningham across the face during Cunningham's layup attempt.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of smacking

Verb

One man was already pounding another's head into a small hole that prisoners used as a toilet.

— Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Breaking Benjamin As pounding as any heavy metal band, this Pennsylvania group hammers its way to surprisingly melodic choruses.

— Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of pounding

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

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Synonyms of clocking

verb

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