blow the whistle on
Idioms-
Expose corruption or other wrongdoing, as in The President's speech blew the whistle on the opposition's leaking information . [ Colloquial ; 1930s]
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Put a stop to, as in The registry decided to blow the whistle on new vanity plates . The term originally alluded to ending an activity (such as factory work) with the blast of a whistle. [Late 1800s]
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.
You don’t want to blow the whistle on this VP because you believe that will jeopardize your investment.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Under Greenspan’s watch, the Fed didn’t blow the whistle on riskier lending practices in which Wall Street used financial alchemy to turn dodgy mortgages into highly rated securities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Instead, eight months later, Smith filed his own lawsuit against the city, alleging he faced retaliation for trying to blow the whistle on a range of misconduct within the LAPD.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
The BBC's undercover reporter repeatedly filmed officers revelling in the use of force, revealing a culture of confidence and trust that colleagues would not blow the whistle on them.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
It's possible that Mami had her own little revolution brewing, and she didn't want to blow the whistle on her girls and thus call attention to herself.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
