flail
verb /fleɪl/
/fleɪl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they flail | /fleɪl/ /fleɪl/ |
| he / she / it flails | /fleɪlz/ /fleɪlz/ |
| past simple flailed | /fleɪld/ /fleɪld/ |
| past participle flailed | /fleɪld/ /fleɪld/ |
| -ing form flailing | /ˈfleɪlɪŋ/ /ˈfleɪlɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] flail (something) (about/around) to move around without control; to move your arms and legs around without control
- The boys flailed around on the floor.
- He was running along, his arms flailing wildly.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- desperately
- helplessly
- wildly
- …
- [transitive] flail somebody/something to hit somebody/something very hard, especially with a stick
Word OriginOld English, of West Germanic origin, based on Latin flagellum ‘whip’; probably influenced in Middle English by Old French flaiel or Dutch vlegel.