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to cane

to cane

8 8.6
To beat someone with a long thin stick as punishment
  • verb
  • /keɪn/
  • NSFW
translation icon : azotar
  • Now be gone from my sight before I cane you.
  • get caned
  • cane a child's bottom
  • cane a boy

Examples

  • In his rages, he caned me and whipped me, yet still I pitied him.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • "When I was a boy, kids were caned by their fathers."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And you will want to cane them too when your turn comes.

  • - In my opinion, we should cane him!

  • - I was often caned when I went to school in England.

  • "My father never caned me, and I would never lay a hand on you either."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • You should've got your rear end caned for what you did.

  • Don't cane me, sir.

  • They caned me and caned me till I was bloody.

  • In the past, children who misbehaved were often caned by their teachers in school.

Synonyms

to whip
vsto cane
133 4.4

To hit something with a long thin object or move it quickly and forcefully

labels punishment by a thin stick rather than lashes or sharp blows
to flog
vsto cane
  • NSFW
18 8.3

Hit someone with a whip or stick as punishment

refers to punishment by a thin stick rather than lashes or heavier implements
to paddle
vsto cane
  • Offensive
4 7.4

To hit someone with a flat board as punishment

uses a thin straight stick for punishment rather than a flat board
to trounce
vsto cane
  • Offensive
1 8.4

To beat someone with a whip or stick as punishment

focuses on punishment by a thin stick rather than general severe beating
to cudgel
vsto cane
1 9.4

To hit someone with a short thick stick

means punishment by a thin stick rather than short heavy striking tools
to lambast
vsto cane
  • NSFW
8.8

To hit someone many times with a stick

uses a thin straight stick for punishment rather than other instruments
to rod
vsto cane
  • Offensive
9.9

To hit someone with a stick as punishment

means punishment by a thin flexible stick rather than long stiff ones

Antonyms

328 1.3

To give something to someone to thank them for doing something good

211 3.0

To forgive someone for a small mistake or rude act

Compounds

22 1.0

A hard sweet stick with red and white stripes that tastes like mint and is used at Christmas

12 2.0

A tall tropical plant with thick sweet stalks used to make sugar

1 1.3

Sweetener made from the tall plant sugarcane used to sweeten food and drinks

1 9.4

A walking stick that hides a small sword inside

1 5.2

A long thin flexible stem from a climbing palm used to make furniture or baskets

cane blight
  • Specialized
7.7

A disease that kills the stems of berry bushes and reduces the harvest

7.5

Tall grass that grows in thick groups near rivers in the southern United States

cane toad invasion
  • Australian
7.6

A quick spread of cane toads into new areas that harms native animals and plants

8.6

A common houseplant with large green leaves that can make your mouth and throat swell if eaten

lawyer cane
  • Australian
9.9

A tall palm with sharp spines that grows in northeastern Queensland

malacca cane
  • Archaic
9.9

A walking stick made from the strong stem of a rattan palm

9.9

A tall tropical plant with long red flower spikes and purple leaves whose seeds are eaten as cereal

7.3

A tall grass that grows in thick groups in the southern United States

A sugar cane plant with large juicy stalks and a lot of sugar

switch cane
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall grass that grows in wet places in the southern United States

A ski pole made from strong Tonkin cane bamboo that is flexible and lasts a long time

5.8

A grass like reeds that grows in wet places like marshes, often in the southern United States

How Violent

to thrash
24 5.8
to flog
  • NSFW
18 8.3
to cane
  • NSFW
8 8.6
to beat
  • NSFW
1.2
to hit
1.0
to smack
164 3.5
to tap
174 1.0

Surface Forms

cane infinitive
cane past
cane past participle
canning present participle
canes third person singular

Etymology

Cane as a verb comes from the noun cane, which comes from Latin canna 'reed'. People used thin plant stems to strike, so to cane someone is to beat them with such a stick.