Word.ws English Dictionary

giving someone what-for

giving someone what-for is the present participle and gerund of give someone what-for.

Meaning of give someone what-for

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To admonish or berate; to speak angrily at somebody.
    • He really gave the kid what-for about the baseball through his window.

Questions about giving someone what-for

What is giving someone what-for the present participle and gerund of?
Giving someone what-for is the present participle and gerund of give someone what-for.

Words near giving someone what-for in the dictionary

  1. giving someone the time
  2. giving someone their cards
  3. giving someone their flowers
  4. giving someone to understand
  5. giving someone what for
  6. giving someone what-for
  7. giving someone wood
  8. giving something a go
  9. giving something a miss
  10. giving something a shot
  11. giving something a try

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: giving someone what-for (page history and authors); give someone what-for (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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