Word.ws English Dictionary

making an example of

making an example of is the present participle and gerund of make an example of.

Meaning of make an example of

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.

Questions about making an example of

What is making an example of the present participle and gerund of?
Making an example of is the present participle and gerund of make an example of.

Words near making an example of in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: making an example of (page history and authors); 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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Cite this entry: “making an example of.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/making_an_example_of. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.