tell off

verb

told off; telling off; tells off

transitive verb

1
: reprimand, excoriate
told him off for his arrogance
2
: 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

Examples of tell off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Is Bissouma forgiven? Ange Postecoglou said on Friday that Yves Bissouma’s response to his suspension for his laughing gas misdemeanour had been like a punished child, whose behaviour is perfect for the two days after being told off. Jack Pitt-Brooke, The Athletic, 24 Aug. 2024 The crowd then roared with cheers when Kendrick told off the director. Zack Sharf, Variety, 28 Oct. 2024 Leonard Maltin, a staunch critic of the first movie, gets eaten by Gremlins followed by the little menaces taking over a theater before being told off by none other than Hulk Hogan. EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024 This was particularly the case during the nuclear talks, where the most hardline factions were told off by Khamenei. Ariane M. Tabatabai, Foreign Affairs, 26 May 2017 Joe Biden tried to tell off a journalist the other day. Rich Lowry, National Review, 16 June 2024 Probably got told off for not saying please or thank you for a while. Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2024 The sources Fortune spoke to said some hires use their weekdays to learn how to scuba dive, while managers told off the candidates for asking too many questions. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 7 May 2024 And yet, crucially, nearly every single time, he is told off, cast out, ignored, tsked, dumped, pitchforked, closed in on. Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1727, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tell off was in 1727

Dictionary Entries Near tell off

Cite this Entry

“Tell off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20off. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

tell off

verb
: scold entry 2 sense 2, reprimand
told him off for spreading rumors
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!