naughty step
Britishnoun
-
a place where a child is made to stand as a punishment for bad behaviour
-
to experience public disfavour, usu. because of perceived wayward behaviour
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.
Another surprise is the UK being taken off the bond markets' naughty step, and instead being named model pupil by the IMF.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Earlier, he tweeted that he was "off the naughty step" and welcomed the government's "re-set".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2022
With Dean Smith on the naughty step, John Terry is on media duties tonight for Aston Villa.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2021
Will she be sent out of the room when the grownups are talking, perhaps, and told to sit on the naughty step?
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 4, 2017
A Sad lamp sounds a bit like the naughty step – a joyless place where you sit and think about what you’ve done.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 1, 2016
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
