boss about
phr. v..phr. v.. to tell someone what to do in an annoying way, especially when you do not have the right to give them orders.
phr. v.. to give orders to someone in a domineering or overbearing manner; implies an abuse of authority or an irritating display of superiority.
Stop trying to boss me about.
She was tired of her older brother always trying to boss her about whenever their parents were out.
The junior manager was widely disliked for his tendency to boss about his colleagues, despite having no formal authority over their daily tasks.
- Particles
- about
- Separability
- optional
- Pattern
- boss + object + about
often used in the continuous form or with 'try to' to express annoyance.
this is a more informal and British-leaning alternative to 'boss around'; both versions are common, but 'about' is frequently used in UK English to suggest aimless or repetitive behavior.
He bosses about me.He bosses me about.when the object is a pronoun like 'me', it must go between the verb and the particle.