1. The art or process of making leather from rawhides.
2. Browning of the skin by exposure to sun and weather.
3. Informal. A beating; a whipping.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.