flail

verb

/fleɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they flail	/fleɪl/ /fleɪl/
he / she / it flails	/fleɪlz/ /fleɪlz/
past simple flailed	/fleɪld/ /fleɪld/
past participle flailed	/fleɪld/ /fleɪld/
-ing form flailing	/ˈfleɪlɪŋ/ /ˈfleɪlɪŋ/

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[intransitive, transitive] flail (something) (about/around) to move around without control; to move your arms and legs around without control乱动；胡乱摆动
- The boys flailed around on the floor.男孩子们在地板上手舞足蹈任意地动来动去。
- He was running along, his arms flailing wildly.他向前跑，拼命摆动双臂。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- desperately
- helplessly
- wildly
- …
See full entry
[transitive] flail somebody/something to hit somebody/something very hard, especially with a stick（尤指用棍棒）猛击，猛打

Word OriginOld English, of West Germanic origin, based on Latin flagellum ‘whip’; probably influenced in Middle English by Old French flaiel or Dutch vlegel.

flail

noun

/fleɪl/

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a tool that has a long handle with a short stick hanging from it, used especially in the past to separate grains of wheat from their dry outer layer, by beating the wheat连枷（旧时长柄脱粒农具）
Word OriginOld English, of West Germanic origin, based on Latin flagellum ‘whip’; probably influenced in Middle English by Old French flaiel or Dutch vlegel.