Word.ws English Dictionary

gives someone the business

gives someone the business is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give someone the business.

Meaning of give someone the business

Verb

give someone the business (third-person singular simple present gives someone the business, present participle giving someone the business, simple past gave someone the business, past participle given someone the business)

  1. (dated, idiomatic) To treat someone harshly or in a wrongful manner, such as by abusing, deceiving, or manipulating.
    • “I hope you're right, Mike. I hope you aren't giving me the business.”
      I grinned at him. “The only one who can get shafted is me.”1951, Mickey Spillane, One Lonely Night, Penguin, published 1980
  2. (dated, idiomatic) To harangue, criticize vigorously, berate, or ridicule someone.
    • The Red Dean's utterances, as usual, got on some people's nerves. The irreverent New York Daily News gave him the business, in a full-column editorial, ending; "Nobody curbs these whizbangs in the United States or England, where they are free to be as nutty as their capacities will permit."1945 November 26, “Religion: Canterbury Red”, in Time

Questions about gives someone the business

What is gives someone the business the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Gives someone the business is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give someone the business.

Words near gives someone the business in the dictionary

  1. gives someone the air
  2. gives someone the arm
  3. gives someone the bag
  4. gives someone the boot
  5. gives someone the brush-off
  6. gives someone the business
  7. gives someone the chair
  8. gives someone the cold shoulder
  9. gives someone the creeps
  10. gives someone the eye
  11. gives someone the gears

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gives someone the business (page history and authors); give someone the business (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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