wallop
verbEtymology
From Middle English wallopen (“gallop”), from Anglo-Norman [Term?], from Old Northern French walop (“gallop”, noun) and waloper (“to gallop”, verb) (compare Old French galoper, whence modern French galoper), from Frankish *wala hlaupan (“to run well”) from *wala (“well”) + *hlaupan (“to run”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to run, leap, spring”), from Proto-Indo-European *klaub- (“to spring, stumble”). Possibly also derived from a deverbal of Frankish *walhlaup (“battle run”) from *wal (“battlefield”) from Proto-Germanic [Term?] (“dead, victim, slain”) from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“death in battle, killed in battle”) + *hlaup (“course, track”) from *hlaupan (“to run”). Compare the doublet gallop.
8 senses
To rush hastily.
To flounder, wallow.
To boil with a continued bubbling or heaving and rolling, with noise.
- Oure affections boyle within vs, & wallop, frothing as a seething potte.1579, Laurence Thomson, A wee note on Calvin's (wordy) sermons:
To strike heavily, thrash soundly.
- Tony got walloped round the face by Mike.
- “It’s just like old times. Nearly walloped the life out of me to stop me going away, and now I come back he throws a confounded shovel at my head to keep me out. It grazed my shoulder.”1902, Joseph Conrad, To-morrow:
3 more examples
- I've been timin' his rushes an' straight-leftin' him, an' meetin' his duck with a wicked little right upper-cut, an' he's shaken me on the jaw an' walloped my ears till my head's all singin' an' buzzin'.1913 October, Jack London, The Valley of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:
- The blizzard walloping the Northeast knocked down power lines and made roads impassable across Massachusetts on Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and stranding vehicles across the state2026 February 24, Christina Morales, Jenna Russell, “Snowstorm Is ‘as Bad as I’ve Seen It,’ Massachusetts Governor Says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Countries already walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and chaotic U.S. policymaking are facing potentially lasting economic damage.2026 March 12, Patricia Cohen, “Fallout From Iran War and Oil Shock Deliver Another Blow to World Economy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
To trounce, beat by a wide margin.
- The other side are bringing out their B-team, so we have to aim to completely wallop them.
To wrap up temporarily.
To move in a rolling, cumbersome manner; to waddle.
- Saluting the far loin of his mare[…]with an energy that made all his accoutrements wallop.1822, James Hogg, Siege of Roxburgh:
- The second act commenced, and the old-fashioned sixpenny waves of Drury did their best, and wallopped about, under a canvas blanket representing the sea, and dashed against the rocks and tall cliffs of the scene to admiration.1872, Joseph C. Hart, Miriam Coffin: Or, The Whale-fisherman, page 208:
To eat or drink with gusto.
- St. Peter will befriend me then, Because my name is Peter too; I know him for the best of men That ever wallopped barley brew.1910, Hilaire Belloc, On Something - Volume 10, page 69:
- A greasy spoon café was found, big brekkies ordered and soon walloped down.2010, William Routledge, Oh Yes, Oh Yes, We are the PPS:
1 more example
- "Huh! Touch o' green was a fig-leaf, I s'pose—hope so, anyhow!" said Mrs. Botlisch, and "wallopped" down another oyster.2019, Mary S. Watts, The Tenants: An Episode of the '80s: