slap around
B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To repeatedly hit someone with your open hand, or to treat someone badly and without care.
Literal meaning: To slap (hit with an open hand) repeatedly in all directions — essentially literal.
Meanings
1 B2 informal
To hit someone repeatedly with open-handed blows.
"The bully was caught slapping around a younger student in the playground."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
To treat someone dismissively or without respect; to dominate someone easily.
"The experienced debater slapped the newcomer around for twenty minutes in front of the audience."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Can be literal (physical hitting) or figurative (treating someone dismissively). The figurative sense is common in American English. Can carry a tone of bullying or domestic abuse, so use with sensitivity.
Commonly used with
bully victim competitor rival contest criticism
Forms
Base
slap around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
slaps around
he/she/it
Past simple
slaped around
yesterday
Past participle
slaped around
have + pp
-ing form
slaping around
continuous
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