pum ‧ mel /ˈpʌm ə l/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle pummelled , present participle pummelling British English , pummeled , pummeling American English ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: pommel ]
1 . to hit someone or something many times quickly, especially using your ↑ fist s (=closed hands) SYN beat :
Diane leaned over and pummeled the pillows.
pummel something with something
She flew at him, pummelling his chest with her fists.
pummel at
The cook pummelled at the dough.
The platoon was pummeled by heavy machine-gun fire.
2 . informal to completely defeat someone at a sport