naughty step
Britishnoun
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a place where a child is made to stand as a punishment for bad behaviour
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to experience public disfavour, usu. because of perceived wayward behaviour
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sale captain Rob du Preez found himself in the sin-bin two minutes later for a late hit on Suleiman Hartzenberg before Carpenter joined him on the naughty step for a deliberate knock-on.
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2025
Of course, no country, big or small, likes sitting on the council's naughty step, and they all try to avoid it.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2022
With Dean Smith on the naughty step, John Terry is on media duties tonight for Aston Villa.
From The Guardian • Jan. 23, 2021
Will she be sent out of the room when the grownups are talking, perhaps, and told to sit on the naughty step?
From The New Yorker • Feb. 4, 2017
The Confederation of British Industry has already called for banks to be removed from the "naughty step", after a prolonged regulatory crackdown following the financial crisis.
From Reuters • Oct. 3, 2016
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
