boss around

Idioms  

1. Tell someone what to do, give orders. For example, David complained that his older sister was always bossing him around. The use of boss in the sense of “to dominate” dates from the mid-1800s, and around was added a few decades later.

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Example Sentences

The point of the order is to eliminate government dispensations that let the firms boss around companies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

"It really seems like kind of a bread-and-butter strategy they use to signal to their borrower that 'We're the big boss around here'," Brad Parks explains.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2021

“Mama’s the big boss around here. She pulls all the strings. The doctor, the dentist, the Gymboree instructor — they’re all on the take. Everybody answers to her.”

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2021

It’s tech we’re supposed to be able to boss around that bosses us around instead.

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2018

Don’t you want some cousins to boss around?

From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson