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Glite Dictionary
to bash in

to bash in

34 7.5
Hit something hard so it breaks or opens
  • phrasal verb
  • /bæʃ ɪn/
  • NSFW
: destrozar
  • He tried to bash in my head, and he should.
  • bashed in the door
  • bashed in the head
  • bashed in his skull

Kind of friggin person bashes in their friend's knee.

Examples

  • I saw in the paper that Mrs French had been found dead with her head bashed in.

    Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

  • The children accidentally bashed in the pumpkin while playing in the yard.

  • The side of his head is bashed in.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • And the face was bashed in with a loose stone.

    Taking Lives (2004)

  • My teeth had been bashed in.

    Academic text (2007)

  • She got her head bashed in and these boys are just standing around.

  • Four people get their heads bashed in - and there's not a single witness?

    Wonderland (2003)

  • His skull was bashed in, he had a plastic bag over his head... and duct tape around his neck.

    Lucky Numbers (2000)

  • The police found the victim with his skull bashed in after a violent confrontation.

  • After the angry mob attacked the car, its windows were completely bashed in.

Synonyms

to hit
vsto bash in
∞ 1.0

To strike someone or something with force

stresses violent force that commonly causes serious damage or injury
to strike
vsto bash in
508 2.4

To hit someone or something with force

is a violent form that usually produces more severe injury
to injure
vsto bash in
474 1.0

Harm someone's body or a part of it, often by accident

is the violent hitting act that commonly produces that bodily harm
to beat up
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
451 4.1

To attack someone by hitting them again and again to hurt them

can be used for violent hitting without aggressive intent
to assault
vsto bash in
209 4.7

To attack someone physically or try to hurt them

focuses on the physical violent hitting that often injures people
to whack
vsto bash in
193 5.5

To hit someone or something hard so it makes a loud sound

can be used for violent hitting that causes serious harm
to smack
vsto bash in
183 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

is a more general violent hit that can be harder or repeated
to bash
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
97 2.9

To hit someone or something very hard

is more likely to cause serious damage or injury
to bust up
vsto bash in
  • Informal
52 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

is the violent hitting action that applies to people as well
to bang up
vsto bash in
  • Informal
44 7.6

Damage something badly, often by hitting or dropping it

is used more for violent hitting that often injures people
to bludgeon
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
33 8.8

To hit someone repeatedly with a heavy stick or club

is broader and does not require a heavy object as weapon
to clobber
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
32 7.7

To hit someone or something very hard many times

covers violent hitting but may not stress repetition
to smash up
vsto bash in
  • Informal
27 4.7

To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces

focuses more on violent impact that may injure people too
to slug
vsto bash in
  • Informal
25 4.6

To hit someone or something very hard, often with the fist

is broader and can involve any part of the body or object
to beat to a pulp
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
17 7.6

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt or win against them very clearly

can be a single violent blow rather than repeated beating
to thrash
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
13 6.5

Hit someone hard, often as punishment or in a fight

is about violent hitting that need not be punitive
to bop
vsto bash in
  • Informal
11 6.1

To hit someone quickly in a light, playful way

is the same physical action but usually with more violence
to strike hard
vsto bash in
10 3.7

Hit someone or something very hard

is the violent hitting action that often leads to serious injury
to dash
vsto bash in
9 1.8

To break something violently into pieces

covers violent hitting but also applies to direct attacks on people
to brain
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
9 9.9

To hit someone hard on the head to seriously hurt them

is a violent hit that does not require a head blow specifically
to wallop
vsto bash in
  • Informal
6 7.3

To hit something or someone very hard

is a violent hitting term that may stress injury more
to punch someone's lights out
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
5 9.8

Hit someone very hard so they are knocked out

is the general violent hitting action that may not knock out
to whop
vsto bash in
  • Informal
4 7.9

To hit someone or something very hard

is similar but often implies causing more lasting damage
to lay into
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
3 7.5

Hit someone or something hard and violently

can be used for violent hitting without strong emotional anger
to boff
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
2 9.0

To hit someone or something hard, often by accident

is generally more violent and likely to cause serious injury
to baste
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
2 9.5

To hit someone repeatedly and very hard

is similar but may cover a single severe blow rather than repeated hits
to knock about
vsto bash in
  • UK
2 6.3

To hit something hard so it moves or gets damaged

is more likely to mean a single violent blow causing serious harm
to beat the daylights out of
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
2 8.6

To hit someone or something very hard and damage it

is often used more broadly for violent impact or harm
to lace into
vsto bash in
  • NSFW
1 8.5

Criticize or attack someone strongly

is specifically about physical violent hitting rather than criticism
to do in
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
1 7.4

To damage something so it stops working or make a person very tired

describes the violent hitting action that often produces that harm
to knock the living daylights out of
vsto bash in
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

is a general violent hit that may not stress shock
to lam into
vsto bash in
  • Informal
9.9

To hit someone or something violently, often by running into them

is the violent physical action that may be less emotionally charged

How Violent

to smash
278 2.1
to bash in
  • NSFW
34 7.5
to bash
  • NSFW
97 2.9
to hit
∞ 1.0
to bump
150 1.0

Surface Forms

bash in infinitive
bashing in present participle
bashes in third person singular
bashed in past
bashed in past participle

Morphology

bash + in

The meaning is directly compositional: 'bash' means to strike or smash with great force and the particle 'in' gives a directional/inward sense, so 'bash in' conveys smashing or hitting something inward (e.g. bashing a door in). This follows normal verb+particle semantics and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Bash in comes from a clear picture: to bash (hit very hard) so the thing goes in (caves inward), like smashing a car window or hitting a door until it caves in. So it means 'to hit or break something violently and make it go inward or become badly damaged'.