What does pummelling mean?
Pummelling means striking someone or something repeatedly and forcefully, usually with the fists. The word has a strong visual and emotional force: it evokes a rapid sequence of blows, often associated with anger, desperation, frustration, or determined violence. It is commonly used for physical assaults, such as pummelling a person or battering a door, though it can also describe repeatedly striking a surface, as in someone pummelling a wall. The word is more explicit and dramatic than the general verb “hit,” while “batter” is often used for attacks involving a weapon, vehicle, or repeated impact. Pummelling may also appear in figurative phrases such as “pummel someone into shape,” where it means to pressure or train them forcefully. In its present-participle form, it can describe an ongoing action, as in “the crowd was pummelling the gates.”
verbTo strike someone or something repeatedly with the fists or another hard object.
- To strike repeatedly with the fists or another hard object.
- To beat or batter someone or something forcefully.
"The angry crowd began pummelling the gates in frustration."
"He was pummelling the table in frustration while waiting for the results."
"The boxer pummelled his opponent with a series of hard punches."
Pummelling began with the pommel, the rounded guard of a weapon, and later came to mean delivering a barrage of blows with the fists.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pummelling come from?
The word is Middle English in origin and was initially associated with a pommel, the rounded part of a weapon's hilt; an early sense was to strike something with such a part. The meaning later broadened to beating repeatedly with the fists or another hard object. Modern British spelling doubles the final consonant before “-ing,” while American spelling generally retains one l.
Related word forms
How pummelling is actually used
The word is forceful and often implies anger or desperation. British and other Commonwealth spelling commonly uses two l's in the inflected forms “pummelling” and “pummelled”; American spelling generally uses one l, as in “pummeling” and “pummeled.”
Easily confused with pummelling
Pommel usually denotes a rounded knob or handle, especially on a sword or bridle, whereas pummel means to strike repeatedly; pommel has also existed as a historical spelling variant of pummel.