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Synonyms

bring to book

Idioms  

  1. Call to account, investigate. For example, He was acquitted, but one day soon he'll be brought to book, or As for your records, the IRS is sure to bring you to book concerning your tax deductions. This term uses book in the sense of “a written record,” such as an account book or ledger. [c. 1800]

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.

"I'm calling on the football authorities to investigate both matches and bring to book anyone found wanting. And if nobody is found guilty of any crime then so be it."

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2022

Judging by their meaning glances at us, they considered us their mortal and cruel enemies whom it would be an act of sublime virtue to bring to book.

From The Ivory Trail by Mundy, Talbot

Ay! true enough, girl, and we will bring to book the villain who did the deed.

From Beyond the Frontier A Romance of Early Days in the Middle West by Parrish, Randall

More than once I had the good fortune to be able to bring to book men who had carried on their trade for years, and who had been entirely unsuspected.

From My Strangest Case by Boothby, Guy

Sprigs of fashion by the dozen Thou dost bring to book, good cousin.

From The Poems of Schiller — Suppressed poems by Schiller, Friedrich

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.