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Synonyms

teach a lesson

Idioms  

  1. Punish in order to prevent a recurrence of bad behavior. For example, Timmy set the wastebasket on fire; that should teach him a lesson about playing with matches. This term uses lesson in the sense of “a punishment or rebuke,” a usage dating from the late 1500s. Also see learn one's lesson.

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.

Noticing Lisa is depressed, Gaga takes her under her wing to teach a lesson in confidence.

From Los Angeles Times

These experiences do not always exist to be traumatizing or even to teach a lesson.

From Salon

I don’t think you are purposely doing this — I believe you are trying to stick up for yourself and “teach a lesson” — but I can guarantee that your son is not growing skills here.

From Washington Post

Taking part in a class-action lawsuit can teach a lesson, too.

From Washington Post

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said responsibility for the building disaster lay with "those who played with people's lives to gain more money and who should not be pardoned but dealt with to teach a lesson to others", the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.

From Reuters

Definitions 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.