to beat up
dero denotes striking or administering blows, chiefly against people and once in a boxing image.
The term most often describes people striking others, whether prisoners, servants, opponents, or persons facing punishment; the clauses portray blows administered or received. In 1 Corinthians 9:26, it is used in the athletic image of boxing without striking the air.
Senses in use
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Striking people with blows · dominant
In Acts 5:40, the aorist active participle occurs as the apostles are beaten before being released; in Luke 20:10, the same form describes farmers beating the owner's slave and sending him away empty-handed. The future passive forms in Luke 12:47 and Mark 13:9 place the recipients under coming blows, while John 18:23 has a second-person present form in Jesus' question after he is struck.
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Boxing image directed at the air · rare
In 1 Corinthians 9:26, the present active participle occurs in the speaker's comparison with boxing; the APB renders the clause, "I box in this way, not beating air."
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB commonly uses "beat" or "beaten" for clauses involving blows against people, and "strikes" in John 18:23. In 1 Corinthians 9:26 it uses "beating air" within a boxing comparison; these are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.