Word.ws English Dictionary

putting the frighteners on someone

putting the frighteners on someone is the present participle and gerund of put the frighteners on someone.

Meaning of put the frighteners on someone

Verb

put the frighteners on someone (third-person singular simple present puts the frighteners on someone, present participle putting the frighteners on someone, simple past and past participle put the frighteners on someone)

  1. (slang) To intimidate or coerce someone using threats of violence.
    • That scumbag still owes me five grand. Send Billy round to put the frighteners on him.

Questions about putting the frighteners on someone

What is putting the frighteners on someone the present participle and gerund of?
Putting the frighteners on someone is the present participle and gerund of put the frighteners on someone.

Words near putting the frighteners on someone in the dictionary

  1. putting the clocks back
  2. putting the cork back in the bottle
  3. putting the dead wood on
  4. putting the fear of God into
  5. putting the finger on
  6. putting the frighteners on someone
  7. putting the genie back in the bottle
  8. putting the hammer down
  9. putting the heat on
  10. putting the herd on someone
  11. putting the kibosh on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: putting the frighteners on someone (page history and authors); put the frighteners on someone (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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