slap down

British  

verb

1. informal (tr, adverb) to rebuke sharply, as for impertinence

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slap down Idioms  

1. Restrain or correct emphatically, as in They thought he was getting far too arrogant and needed to be slapped down. This idiom, which literally means “inflict a physical blow,” began to be used figuratively in the first half of the 1900s.

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Example Sentences

So when Kane diverted from his trademark non-controversial messaging to deliver what amounted to a very public slap down on England team-mates for missing the forthcoming Uefa Nations League games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland, it was a moment of wide significance.

From BBC

As soon as Kildunne returned, wing Bo Westcombe-Evans was shown a yellow card for a deliberate slap down, but a number of handling errors from Canada meant they were unable to again take advantage of the extra player.

From BBC

He must know that those who meet him use these meetings to slap down accusations of antisemitism.

From Slate

"What you want for a quizmaster are actual cards, which you can deploy to good effect when exasperated. You can't slap down a screen. It also means there's less eye contact with the teams."

From BBC

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg predicted that the earlier slap down of her rulings by an appeals court could make Cannon think twice about potentially controversial rulings.

From Salon

Related Words

• berate
• castigate
• censure
• flog
• lash
• punish
• upbraid