Phrasal verb
come down upon
Definition
phrasal verb. to punish or criticize someone very strongly for doing something wrong.
phrasal verb. to reprimand or penalize someone with significant severity; often used when an authority figure enforces rules strictly.
Examples
“The manager will come down upon anyone who is late.”
“The government promised to come down upon companies that do not follow the new environmental laws.”
“The judiciary decided to come down upon the perpetrators with the full weight of the law to deter future white-collar crime.”
Examples
simple
“The manager will come down upon anyone who is late.”
contextual
“The government promised to come down upon companies that do not follow the new environmental laws.”
complex
“The judiciary decided to come down upon the perpetrators with the full weight of the law to deter future white-collar crime.”
Usage
usually followed by a person or a group as the object of the punishment.
Teaching tip
this is a more formal and forceful version of 'come down on'; the use of 'upon' adds a layer of traditional or legal weight to the expression.
Pitfall
The teacher came down upon to the student.
The teacher came down upon the student.
the phrase is a transitive phrasal-prepositional verb and takes a direct object without adding extra prepositions like 'to'.
Phrasal verb
Particles
down upon
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
come + down + upon + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/come-down-upon