1. beating with a heavy stick or club
Usage: present participle of cudgel
2. thinking hard about something; racking one’s brain
Usage: usually in phrase ‘cudgelling one’s brains’

1. the act of beating with a cudgel
Usage: gerund form

Examples

• The angry mob was cudgelling the thief they had caught.
• He spent hours cudgelling his brains for the answer.
• The medieval knight received a severe cudgelling from his opponent.
• She was cudgelling her memory to recall where she had left her keys.
• The cudgelling continued until the guards intervened.
• After much cudgelling of his wits, he finally solved the puzzle.
• The prisoner showed signs of a recent cudgelling.