BULLY | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

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Meaning of bully in English bullynoun [ C ] uk /ˈbʊl.i/ us /ˈbʊl.i/

bully noun [C] (MEAN PERSON)

Add to word list Add to word list C1 someone who hurts or frightens someone else, often over a period of time, and often forcing them to do something that they do not want to do: You're just a big bully! Teachers usually know who the bullies are in a class.
  • It takes courage to stand up to a bully.
  • He was one of those school bullies who tyrannized the whole playground.
  • Don't be such a bully - if she doesn't want to come with us, she doesn't have to.
  • The playground bully used to take our dinner money off us.
  • The management team should stop acting like bullies and try to discuss the problem with us reasonably.
Treating people or animals badly
  • a raw deal idiom
  • abuse of power
  • abuser
  • anti-harassment
  • at the hands of someone idiom
  • batten
  • ill-treat
  • ill-treatment
  • ill-used
  • impose
  • inflict
  • price gouging
  • put someone through something phrasal verb
  • put upon
  • reduce
  • uncared for
  • use
  • vampiric
  • victimization
  • victimize
See more results »

bully noun [C] (DOG)

(also bully breed, bully dog) a type of strong, small or medium-sized dog with a short muzzle (= nose) that includes various breeds including the American bully, the pit bull terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and the bulldog: We call these dogs bullies not because of their temperament but because of their history. Bully dogs are all descendants from the same type of dog. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier is one of the smaller of the recognized bully breeds. Canines (dogs)
  • Affenpinscher
  • Afghan hound
  • Airedale terrier
  • Akita
  • Alaskan Klee Kai
  • Coton de Tuléar
  • coyote
  • cur
  • dachshund
  • Dalmatian
  • Nederlandse Kooikerhondje
  • Newfoundland
  • Norfolk terrier
  • Norrbottenspets
  • Norwegian Buhund
  • Shikoku
  • short-haired
  • Siberian husky
  • sight hound
  • Silky terrier
See more results »

bully noun [C] (SPORT)

old-fashioned in hockey, an action in which the referee drops the puck or ball between two players from the opposing teams to start play: Klein won the bully at the start of the game and the Eagles scored the first goal within two minutes. Synonym face-off Hockey
  • backchecking
  • biscuit
  • blocker
  • boarding
  • broomball
  • eleven
  • freeze
  • light the lamp idiom
  • major penalty
  • minor
  • minor penalty
  • odd-man rush
  • pipe
  • stack
  • stickhandle
  • stickhandler
  • stickwork
  • street hockey
  • sweater
  • tend
See more results »

Idiom

bully for someone bullyverb [ T ] uk /ˈbʊl.i/ us /ˈbʊl.i/ C1 to use your power or strength to frighten or hurt someone, often over a period of time, and often forcing that person to do something they do not want to do: Our survey indicates that one in four children is bullied at school.bully someone into something/doing something Don't let anyone bully you into doing something you don't want to do. Synonym hector disapproving
  • He has a strong personality, but don't let him bully you.
  • Don't be bullied, learn to stand up for yourself and what you believe in.
  • It is important that you report it to the teacher if you see anyone being bullied.
  • When you are bullied, it can destroy your self-esteem.
  • He bullied me into getting the surgery done.
Treating people or animals badly
  • a raw deal idiom
  • abuse of power
  • abuser
  • anti-harassment
  • at the hands of someone idiom
  • batten
  • ill-treat
  • ill-treatment
  • ill-used
  • impose
  • inflict
  • price gouging
  • put someone through something phrasal verb
  • put upon
  • reduce
  • uncared for
  • use
  • vampiric
  • victimization
  • victimize
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Causing somebody to act

Related word

bullying (Definition of bully from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

bully | American Dictionary

bullyverb [ T ] us /ˈbʊl·i/ Add to word list Add to word list to threaten to hurt someone, often frightening that person into doing something: He managed to bully her into giving him her car. bullynoun [ U ] us/ˈbʊl·i/ a person who threatens to hurt someone, often forcing that person to do something: Teachers usually know who the bullies are in a class. (Definition of bully from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of bully

bully Composite scores for the items relating to teasing and bullying at each time point were created, with scores of 0-2. From the Cambridge English Corpus A vocal lot, they said that they would not be bullied by anyone. From the Cambridge English Corpus Also, like battery chickens they also have their beaks removed to prevent them bullying and pecking other chickens. From the Cambridge English Corpus A child who bullies others and steals from department stores has a social problem. From the Cambridge English Corpus In general, individuals who had been identified as childhood victims of bullying were functioning adequately as young adults and did not experience serious maladjustment. From the Cambridge English Corpus Ninety-six percent (212/220) of doctors reported being bullied by more than one person. From the Cambridge English Corpus My seventh grader bullies or is cruel or mean to others. From the Cambridge English Corpus With precious few exceptions, the men around her seem to have been an appalling lot, who bullied, cheated, slandered and, ultimately, abandoned her. From the Cambridge English Corpus What causes the age decline in reports of being bullied at school? From the Cambridge English Corpus She tries to show daughterly affection to her surly father but is bullied and repulsed by him. From the Cambridge English Corpus Additionally, the influence of negative affectivity on reports of bullying and on relationships between bullying and occupational health outcomes has not been investigated. From the Cambridge English Corpus The result of two days bullying all round is that we have a few tables and two telephones and one borrowed typewriter. From the Cambridge English Corpus In response to his bullying the aldermen agreed to make up any shortfall on the subsidy themselves. From the Cambridge English Corpus Table 3 presents the differences in gender between those who reported each type of bullying behavior and those who did not. From the Cambridge English Corpus Towards a developmental analysis of risks of being bullied. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of bully These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of bully?

Translations of bully

in Chinese (Traditional) 恃強淩弱者，以大欺小者, 傷害, 脅迫… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 恃强凌弱者，以大欺小者, 伤害, 胁迫… See more in Spanish matón, intimidar, acosar a… See more in Portuguese agressor, agressora, valentão… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian दादागिरी करणारे, छळ, दमदाटी वारंवार करून एखादी नको असलेली गोष्ट करायला लावणे… See more （弱い者）をいじめる, いじめっ子, 弱い物いじめをする者… See more kabadayılık/zorbalık etmek, bilerek birini korkutmak, zayıf birinin üstüne üstüne gitmek… See more maltraiter, brutaliser, petite brute [feminine]… See more assetjar, intimidar, pinxo… See more bullebak, tiranniseren… See more யாரோ ஒருவரை காயப்படுத்துபவர் அல்லது பயமுறுத்துகிறார், அடிக்கடி ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட காலப்பகுதியில், மற்றும் அடிக்கடி அவர்கள் செய்ய விரும்பாத ஒன்றைச் செய்யும்படி கட்டாயப்படுத்துகிறார்… See more धौंस जमाने वाला, बदमाश, दबंग… See more બદમાશ, લફંગો, શારીરિક કે નૈતિક પજવણી… See more bølle, bisse, mobbe… See more översittare, trakassera, mobba… See more buli, membuli… See more der Tyrann, schikanieren… See more mobbe, mobber [masculine], bølle [masculine]… See more جھگڑا لو, ضدی, مردم آزار… See more задирака, хуліган, задиратися… See more గూండా, ఒకరిని బాధపెట్టడం లేక భయపెట్టడం, తరచూ కొంత కాలానికి… See more মস্তান, ধমক বা হুমকি দেওয়া, মাস্তানি করা… See more tyran, tyranizovat… See more pengganggu, menganiaya… See more อันธพาล, พาล… See more đầu gấu trường học, bắt nạt… See more znęcać się nad, zmuszać, osoba znęcająca się nad słabszymi… See more 괴롭히다, 괴롭히는 사람… See more intimidire, tiranneggiare, prepotente… See more Need a translator?

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bullshit bullshitted bullshitter bullshitting bully bully beef bully boy bully for someone idiom bully pulpit {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of bully

  • bully boy
  • bully beef
  • American bully
  • bully pulpit
  • bully someone into something/doing something
  • cyber bully, at cyberbully
  • cyber-bully, at cyberbully
See all meanings
  • bully for someone idiom

Word of the Day

lily pad

UK /ˈlɪl.i ˌpæd/ US /ˈlɪl.i ˌpæd/

the large, round-shaped leaf of the water lily that floats on the surface of water

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  • English   
    • Noun 
      • bully (MEAN PERSON)
      • bully (DOG)
      • bully (SPORT)
    Verb
  • American   VerbNoun
  • Examples
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
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Tag » How Do You Spell Bullying