beatdown

[beet-doun]

noun

1. a decisive defeat.

   The team is on its way to the quarterfinals after delivering last night's 12–3 beatdown.

2. a severe beating.

   If you said that to me, you'd get the beatdown of your life.

verb phrase

1. to cause to be subdued, discouraged, or hopeless.

   Never allow yourself to be beaten down by the hardships you face in life.

   Every time someone raises this issue, others beat them down with outraged attacks on their patriotism.

2. to beat physically.

   Protesters had been beaten down by police wielding batons.

3. to persuade (a seller) to lower the price of something.

   His first price was too high, so we tried to beat him down.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beatdown¹

First recorded in 1985–90, for the noun; 1610–20, for the verb

Example Sentences

Which is how Missouri State, in its first-ever matchup as a Football Bowl Subdivision program, wound at the Coliseum on Saturday, watching helplessly as USC stopped just short of stealing the Bears’ lunch money in a 73-13 season-opening beatdown.

From Los Angeles Times

Democrats were still lost after suffering a historic beatdown from a once-defeated Republican presidential candidate.

From Los Angeles Times

For the punch-drunk Department of Justice, the 9th Circuit loss was the latest blow in a protracted judicial beatdown, as many of the administration’s most aggressive moves have been held back by federal judges and tied up in appellate courts.

From Los Angeles Times

This lack of logic shares much DNA with the rationales of abusers everywhere, who claim that having a boundary is actually abusing them, and therefore, the word “no” justifies whatever beatdown they inflict on the victim.

From Salon

Jacob Krieg put the finishing touches on the beatdown with a three-run homer in the eighth inning.

From Los Angeles Times