ENGLISH
REFERENCE

give someone grief

idiom
Meaning

To hassle or abuse someone.


Examples
SIMPLE

My brother likes to give me grief about my messy room.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager started to give the new employee grief for arriving five minutes late to the shift.

COMPLEX

Despite his best efforts to complete the project on time, his supervisor continued to give him grief regarding the minor errors in the final report.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    as if someone owns the place

    Alternative form of like someone owns the place.

  2. 02

    beat someone round the ears

    To beat (a person) with blows about the head.

  3. 03

    bless someone with

    To give or bestow, as a gift from God.

  4. 04

    bring someone to their knees

    To defeat and make submit to orders.

  5. 05

    call someone every name in the book

    To call someone many abusive names.

  6. 06

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

  7. 07

    catch someone napping

    To take advantage of someone's inattention.

  8. 08

    come to grief

    To suffer a disastrous outcome.

© 2026 English Reference