bullying

American  

[bool-ee-ing] / ˈbʊl i ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of harassing, intimidating, or abusing others, especially habitually or from a perceived position of relative power.

   Bullying and stress can impact students' experiences at school.

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Other Word Forms

• unbullying
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bullying

First recorded in 1675–85; bully ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

Bullying is the act of intimidating someone else. Threatening to beat up your little brother if he doesn't clean your room for you is most certainly an act of bullying. You may have heard of the word bully, which is a person, often young, who harasses others. A schoolyard bully might call you names, steal your lunch money, and generally make your life miserable. Bullying is the act of being a bully. Believe it or not, bullying can be serious business with grave consequences. There are even laws that require schools to take action against bullying.

Example Sentences

This is largely due to their style of play, the perception that there is an over-reliance on set-pieces and that they have got away with bullying the opposition on corners.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

Internal complaints—about anything from bullying and policy violations to performance issues and workplace violence—are surfacing with increasing frequency, data suggest.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Australia in December banned under 16s from a raft of popular social media platforms, launching a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms".

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Third, research on bullying indicates that youth who observe bullying behavior from and between adults are more likely to engage in it.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

And then Jake came to Alaska’s defense, saying that she would never cheat because she loved him, and then I was like, ‘Don’t worry about Sara. She just likes bullying people.’

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

Related Words

• imperious