Showing results for "bullying"

• present participle of bully.

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

See Examples For:

bullying

It’s hard to tell when, exactly, raising legitimate concern about a woman celebrity’s appearance became synonymous with your run-of-the-mill misogyny or bullying.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Instagram, which is owned by Meta, has been disabling accounts and taking down some of these pickup or prank videos for violating the platform’s rules against harassment and bullying.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The video itself has been roundly seen as damaging to Miller, who comes across as bullying and condescending, and whose rage at the situation seems to be boiling just below the surface.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

The woman has accused the Tates of bullying her and other accusers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Maybe his pizza initiative would wipe out bullying and homework at Stirling Middle School.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Related Words

• imperious