Cryptic crossword clue
Decisive defeat in ring — count out 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word TROUNCING

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Decisive defeat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case decisive defeat = trouncing.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does TROUNCING mean?

TROUNCING verb
  1. To beat severely; to thrash.
  2. To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
  3. To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language.
  4. To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue.
TROUNCING verb
  1. To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
  2. To pass across or over; to traverse.
  3. To travel quickly over a long distance.
TROUNCING noun
  1. Present participle of trounce: a thorough defeat.

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