lash out
verb
Forms lashes out lashing out lashed out
- verb To make a sudden violent attack.
- verb (figurative) To make a fierce verbal attack. “The man lashed out at me when I asked if it was his own hair.”
- verb (intransitive) To splash out (spend a lot of money).
Synonyms
Etymology
For the verb's chief current sense (to attack suddenly), by surface analysis suggests reaching out with the lash (either literally or figuratively); however, the verb is entered in various early-19th-century dictionaries with various senses, only some of which have to do with attacking, kicking, or similar. One of them corresponds to today's splash out (that is, to break out into spending), while another corresponds to breaking out into expressing oneself verbally.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “lash out”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details