beating vs licking

beating and licking both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
beating	Yes	No	No	No
licking	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, beating and licking are synonyms defined as:

beating and licking: the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows

Other synonyms of beating include drubbing, lacing, thrashing, trouncing, whacking.

beating (noun)	licking (noun)
the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows	the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows
the act of overcoming or outdoing	an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest