Writing World

Bill W · November 10, 2025

The word "lambast" is likely a comgination of two archaic verbs: "lam", meaning "to beat" or "to thrash", and "baste", meaning "to beat soundly" (it's unrelated to the cooking or sewing term). Lambaste is the preferred spelling in American and Canadian English, while lambast is the preferred spelling in British and other forms of English.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the verb "lambaste" was first used in English in the mid-1600s, with the earliest evidence from 1637 in a text by Inigo Jones and William Davenant. Its original meaning was to physically assault or beat someone violently, but by the 1800s, the meaning expanded to include harsh verbal attacks or criticism.

Examples of "lambaste" used in a sentence:
"The coach lambasted the team for its poor play."
"They wrote several letters lambasting the new law."
"Even with its success, harsh party leaders continued to lambaste the plan for healthcare reform."
"The rude shopper continued to lambaste the sales clerk for not moving quick enough."
"Trying to change his overly critical ways, the dater promised the matchmaker that he would not lambaste his date over small errors."
"As if complaining wasn’t enough, the young woman’s mother-in-law made an effort to lambaste her regarding her cooking and her housecleaning skills."