flail

1 of 2

noun

ˈflāl 

: a hand threshing implement consisting of a wooden handle at the end of which a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to swing freely

flail

2 of 2

verb

flailed; flailing; flails

transitive verb

1

a

: to strike with or as if with a flail

The bird's wings flailed the water.

b

: to move, swing, or beat as if wielding a flail

flailing a club to drive away the insects

2

: to thresh (grain) with a flail

intransitive verb

: to move, swing, or beat like a flail

arms flailing in the water

Synonyms

Verb

• beat
• flap
• flop
• flutter
• whip

Examples of flail in a Sentence

Verb

They were flailing their arms to drive away the insects.

The wounded animal lay on the ground, flailing helplessly.

He was wildly flailing about on the dance floor.

The bird's wings flailed the water.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

With a flailing Jo Koy at the helm, the Golden Globes’ party seriously fizzled: Not even the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. —Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2024

This kind of show needs a cast willing to dive headlong into the curdling eggnog (or, specifically here, a vat of premade Manhattans to null the pain) and Cullman has the right crew, with Mare Winningham and David Rasche playing the flailing parents. —Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 13 Dec. 2024

This leads to the familiar scene of Mary coming home to her living room lined in plastic wrap, where a flailing Dexter pounces on her and eventually restrains her to his signature table. —Hunter Ingram, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024

Physical media is all but dead, and independent artists and niche subcultures are flailing to survive within the pay-to-play economy. —Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English fleil, flail, partly from Old English *flegel (whence Old English fligel), from Late Latin flagellum flail, from Latin, whip & partly from Anglo-French flael, from Late Latin flagellum — more at flagellate

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

flail

1 of 2 noun

ˈflā(ə)l 

: a tool for threshing grain by hand

flail

2 of 2 verb

1

: to strike with or as if with a flail

2

: to move or wave about as if swinging a flail

flailed their arms

Medical Definition

flail

adjective

ˈflā(ə)l 

: exhibiting abnormal mobility and loss of response to normal controls

—used of body parts damaged by paralysis, injury, or surgery

flail joint