Synonyms

chew out

British

verb

informal (tr, adverb) to reprimand

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

chew out Idioms

Scold harshly, as in Dad will chew you out for taking the car without permission. Originating in the military, this slangy term began to be used during World War I and soon spread to civilian life. Several vulgar versions, such as chew someone's ass out, should be avoided in polite speech. Also see eat out, def. 2.

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