Word.ws English Dictionary

make an example of

make an example of verb: to punish someone so as to give a warning to others; sometimes, to overpunish them for added deterrence.

Verb

make an example of (third-person singular simple present makes an example of, present participle making an example of, simple past and past participle made an example of)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To punish someone so as to give a warning to others; sometimes, to overpunish them for added deterrence.
    • He made an example of the drunken sailor with twenty lashes, to show that he must have a sober crew.
    • Most people got away with Napster piracy, but a few people were sued for gigantic sums because copyright holders intended to make an example of them.

Forms of make an example of

third-person singular presentmakes an example of
present participlemaking an example of
past participlemade an example of
pastmade an example of

Questions about make an example of

What does make an example of mean?
Make an example of means to punish someone so as to give a warning to others; sometimes, to overpunish them for added deterrence.
What part of speech is make an example of?
Make an example of is a verb.
What is the past tense of make an example of?
The past tense of make an example of is made an example of.

Words near make an example of in the dictionary

  1. make an appearance
  2. make an ass of
  3. make an effort
  4. make an entrance
  5. make an errand
  6. make an example of
  7. make an exception
  8. make an exhibition of oneself
  9. make an honest woman
  10. make an impression
  11. make an offer

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: make an example of (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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