battering
noun
bat·ter·ing
ˈba-tə-riŋ 
1
: violent physical abuse that usually involves the act of striking someone repeatedly or heavily in order to cause injury
Feminists turned violence against women, previously a well-kept secret, into a public political issue; made rape, incest, battering and sexual harassment understood as crimes; and got public funding for shelters for battered women.—
The Nation
The Nation2
: a damaging experience or situation : an injury, setback, or defeat
That was the year Canada rebounded from a 28–4 battering in the round-robin to beat the U.S. 17–16 in the championship final …—Bob Kravitz
Bob KravitzWhile her confidence took a battering [=was damaged], she kept a game face throughout the season.—Sally Bedell Smith
Sally Bedell SmithExamples of battering in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Armed with the size and number of impactors, Marchi and colleagues built a model that describes, as a function of time, the volume of melt this battering must have produced at the Earth’s surface.
—Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024
But Veep made its point with a battering, swift insistence.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024
The battering caused parts of the southbound lanes to collapse along the shoulder between mile markers 4.8 and 5.2.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024
However, last year—which saw stocks take their worst battering since the financial crisis—Norway’s wealth fund suffered a 14% loss, the second-worst return in its history after a 23% loss at the height of the 2008 crash.
—Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2023
Another is last week’s very public battering by senators demanding more content moderation to protect childrens’ safety on their platforms.
—Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 6 Feb. 2024
The Rite Aid drugstore chain has taken some richly deserved batterings recently.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023
With this truce, the Israeli military will be faced with the complicated task of resuming its battering of Gaza at a similar pace.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
But he’s just inflicted still another battering on his already beleaguered brand that will further undermine its standing in the eyes of advertisers.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023
Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024
But Veep made its point with a battering, swift insistence.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024
The battering caused parts of the southbound lanes to collapse along the shoulder between mile markers 4.8 and 5.2.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024
However, last year—which saw stocks take their worst battering since the financial crisis—Norway’s wealth fund suffered a 14% loss, the second-worst return in its history after a 23% loss at the height of the 2008 crash.
—Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2023
Another is last week’s very public battering by senators demanding more content moderation to protect childrens’ safety on their platforms.
—Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 6 Feb. 2024
The Rite Aid drugstore chain has taken some richly deserved batterings recently.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023
With this truce, the Israeli military will be faced with the complicated task of resuming its battering of Gaza at a similar pace.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
But he’s just inflicted still another battering on his already beleaguered brand that will further undermine its standing in the eyes of advertisers.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'battering.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Battering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battering. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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