boss around

Idioms

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.

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.

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

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said West Ham's owners could have shown Moyes "more respect" and that they had "messed" the former Manchester United and Everton boss around.

From BBC • May 10, 2024

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

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2018

“I was not really the boss around ‘Prairie Home Companion,’” Keillor said.

From Washington Times • Feb. 24, 2018

“You can’t boss around the dead,” as the soothsayer tried to explain afterward, but Lady Constance was convinced the fortune-teller was a fraud, and spoke harshly about the incident for weeks afterward.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023