licking vs beating

licking and beating both are nouns.

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

As nouns, licking and beating are synonyms defined as:

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

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

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