• (British) IPA: /klɒb.ə(ɹ)/

clobber (clobbers, present participle clobbering; past and past participle clobbered)

1. (transitive, slang) To hit or bash severely; to seriously harm or damage.
   • 1954, Evan Hunter, The Blackboard Jungle, 1984, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SJ8fAQAAIAAJ&q=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bpQrT7LpA4PmmAWjr6nJDw&redir_esc=y page 201],

     So the temptation to clobber was always there, and it was sometimes more difficult not to strike than it would have been to strike, and the consequences be damned.

   • 2000 November 30, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2nqu4XlDQgkC&pg=PT13&dq=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b9wqT4fKIKqfmQW5zZHQDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 3034],

     Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the East African Standard newspaper we saw a picture of a man being carried away after being clobbered. We also saw women being clobbered by well-built policemen using big clubs. They were clobbering women who had already fallen on the ground.

     The following script cripples the UNIX server by an implosion of incoming jobs. This is known as a denial of service (DOS) attack […] .

2. (transitive, computing, slang) To overwrite (data) or override (an assignment of a value), often unintentionally or unexpectedly.
   • 1999, Michael J. Wooldridge, Anand Rao, Foundations of Rational Agency, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=gwfVn6d1SDsC&pg=PA74&dq=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UI8rT9G-JeTImQX0t9jFDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 74],

     Inferences made in accordance with this reason are defeated by finding that the merged plan clobbers one of the causal-links in one of the constituent plans.

   • 2004, John R. Levine, Margaret Levine Young, Unix for Dummies, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ZaEePYR8LIsC&pg=PA314&dq=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xTQrT8vXKPCcmQXYzNXMDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 314],

     The cp command does one thing as it clobbers a file; mv and ln do another.

   • 2007, Billy Hoffman, Bryan Sullivan, Ajax Security, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=AIm_LV5a528C&pg=PT182&dq=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=e94qT4HXMu7LmAXNteAB&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22clobber%22|%22clobbers%22|%22clobbering%22|%22clobbered%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page],

     These functions collide, and we can see in Figure 7-1 that the debug() function for SexyWidgets clobbers the developer′s debug() function. The last function declared with the same name in the same scope will silently clobber the earlier function definition.

• French: tabassage
• German: (slang) dreschen, (slang) durchhauen
• Portuguese: arrebentar
• Russian: бить
• Spanish: reventar, arruinar

• French: écraser
• German: überschreiben
• Russian: перезаписывать
• Spanish: arruinar

clobber (uncountable)

1. (slang) A thumping or beating.
   • 2014, Philippa Ballantine, Weather Child

     He should have stepped back and given Hemi room to chat and see where the women was going, yet he found himself drawn over to them. His friend would probably give him a clobber later on for his stupidity […]

2. (Australia, Britain, slang) clothing#Noun|Clothing.
   • 1892, Rudyard Kipling, “Loot”, in Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses, 3rd edition, London: Methuen & Co. […], OCLC 222189643 ↗, page 31 ↗:

     W'y, they call a man a robber if 'e stuffs 'is marchin' clobber / With the— / (Chorus) Loo! loo! Lulu! lulu! Loo! loo! Loot! loot! loot!

   • 1900, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Captain Brassbound’s Conversion”, in Three Plays for Puritans: The Devil’s Disciple, Cæsar and Cleopatra, & Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, London: Grant Richards, […], published 1901, OCLC 122594195 ↗, Act III, page 292 ↗:

     Now to get rid of this respectable clobber and feel like a man again.

   • 1919, C. J. Dennis, Red Robin, in Jim of The Hills, Gutenberg Australia eBook #0500931 ↗:

     I was thinkin' of the widow while I gets me clobber on— / Like a feller will start thinkin' of the times that's past an' gone.

3. (Britain, slang) Equipment.

clobber (uncountable)

1. A paste used by shoemakers to hide the cracks in leather.