Phrasal verb
hound out
Definition
phrasal verb. to force someone to leave a job or a place by being very mean to them or constantly attacking them.
phrasal verb. to drive someone out of a position, organization, or location through persistent harassment, criticism, or social pressure.
Examples
“The angry crowd tried to hound him out of town.”
“After the scandal became public, the board of directors hounded her out of the company.”
“The investigative journalist was hounded out of the country by a government that refused to tolerate any public dissent.”
Examples
simple
“The angry crowd tried to hound him out of town.”
contextual
“After the scandal became public, the board of directors hounded her out of the company.”
complex
“The investigative journalist was hounded out of the country by a government that refused to tolerate any public dissent.”
Usage
usually used in the passive voice or with a clear object being forced away.
Teaching tip
connect the verb to the behavior of a 'hound' (a hunting dog) to help students visualize the persistent, aggressive nature of the action.
Pitfall
They hounded out him from the office.
They hounded him out of the office.
when using a pronoun like 'him', it must come between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
hound + object + out + of + location
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/hound-out