tell off — (someone) to tell someone that their behavior is not acceptable. I was told off by my best friend, and it was a long time before I could forgive her. He s always been obnoxious and it s about time someone told him off … New idioms dictionary
tell off — [v] reprimand; criticize harshly berate, censure, chide, give piece of one’s mind*, give tongue lashing*, lecture, rail, rake over the coals*, rebuke, reproach, reprove, revile, scold, take to task*, tick off*, upbraid, vituperate; concepts 44,52 … New thesaurus
tell off — verb reprimand She told the misbehaving student off • Syn: ↑brush down • Hypernyms: ↑call on the carpet, ↑take to task, ↑rebuke, ↑rag, ↑trounce, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
tell off — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms tell off : present tense I/you/we/they tell off he/she/it tells off present participle telling off past tense told off past participle told off informal to criticize someone angrily for doing something wrong… … English dictionary
tell off someone — tell off (someone) to tell someone that their behavior is not acceptable. I was told off by my best friend, and it was a long time before I could forgive her. He s always been obnoxious and it s about time someone told him off … New idioms dictionary
tell off — {v.} 1. To name or count one by one and give some special duty to; give a share to. * /Five boy scouts were told off to clean the camp./ 2. {informal} To speak to angrily or sharply; attack with words; scold. * /Mr. Black got angry and told off… … Dictionary of American idioms
tell off — {v.} 1. To name or count one by one and give some special duty to; give a share to. * /Five boy scouts were told off to clean the camp./ 2. {informal} To speak to angrily or sharply; attack with words; scold. * /Mr. Black got angry and told off… … Dictionary of American idioms
tell off — PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone off, you speak to them angrily or seriously because they have done something wrong. [V n P] He never listened to us when we told him off... [V n P for n/ ing] I m always being told off for being so awkward... [V P … English dictionary
tell off — informal oh, brother, did he ever tell you off See reprimand 1 … Thesaurus of popular words
tell off — transitive verb Date: 1804 1. to number and set apart; especially to assign to a special duty < told off a detail and put them to opening a trench J. F. Dobie > 2. reprimand, excoriate < told him off for his arrogance > … New Collegiate Dictionary
