Meaning & use
whipping
Last updated
“whipping” is a form of “whip”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Hitting a person or animal again and again with a whip, strap or similar flexible object.
Grammar: Takes an object: whipping the horse.
Patterns
- whipping someone
- whipping something with something
The driver was criticized for whipping the exhausted horses up the hill.
In the old story the sailors were punished by whipping them on deck.
He kept whipping the air with a branch as he walked along the path.
verbtransitive
Beating cream, egg whites or a similar mixture hard so that it becomes light and thick.
Grammar: Takes an object: whipping the cream.
Patterns
- whipping something up
- whipping something into something
She is whipping the cream while the pie cools.
I am whipping the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
He was whipping butter and sugar into a pale, fluffy paste.
verbintransitive
Moving or striking with a sudden lashing motion, as wind, rain or a loose rope can.
Grammar: No object; often followed by a direction word: rain whipping against the glass.
Patterns
- whipping across something
- whipping around
The wind was whipping across the empty parking lot.
Loose cables were whipping about in the storm.
Her hair kept whipping into her face on the open deck.
nouncountable or uncountable
A beating given with a whip as punishment.
Grammar: Countable for one event, uncountable for the practice: a whipping, public whipping.
Patterns
- give someone a whipping
- get a whipping
Whipping was once a common punishment in many countries.
The boy was afraid of getting a whipping for breaking the window.
The team took a whipping in the final, losing by thirty points.
Word forms
| base form | whip |
|---|---|
| third person singular | whips |
| past tense | whipped |
| past participle | whipped |
| plural noun | whippings |
Common combinations
- whipping cream
- Buy a carton of whipping cream for the dessert.
- whipping boy
- The new manager became the whipping boy for the company's losses.
- whipping wind
- A whipping wind made the beach unbearable.
- public whipping
- A public whipping was once used to shame offenders.
- whipping up a meal
- She is whipping up a quick supper from leftovers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beating
- Beating is a broader word for hitting repeatedly with any object, while whipping suggests a flexible lash.
- lashing
- Lashing stresses the sharp, cutting stroke of a whip or the force of rain, and is a little more literary.
- whisking
- Whisking fits the kitchen sense when you use a whisk and fewer extra strokes, while whipping aims at adding air to make something thick.
- flogging
- Flogging is a formal word for punishment by beating and does not apply to cooking.
Word family
Commonly confused: whipping or wiping? whipping or whisking?
whipping vs wiping
Wiping means rubbing a surface to clean or dry it; it is often what the misspelling wipping is mistaken for. The correct spelling for the beating or cooking word is whipping, with wh.
whipping vs whisking
Whisking means beating with a whisk, usually lightly and quickly; whipping implies beating hard enough to add a lot of air.
Practice
The recipe says to keep ____ the cream until it forms soft peaks.
Choose one answer.
Whipping is beating cream until it thickens and holds air. Wiping is for cleaning, and wrapping and whittling are unrelated actions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “whipping”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.