tell off

Verb

tell off (third-person singular simple present tells off, present participle telling off, simple past and past participle told off)

1. (transitive) To number off (a group of soldiers); to divide up (soldiers) in this way.
   • To equalize a battalion is to tell off a certain number of companies, usually eight, in such a manner that the several component parts shall consist of the same number of men.1885, Edward Farrow, A Dictionary of Military Terms
2. (transitive) To assign (someone) to a particular task, duty etc.; to depute, to allocate.
   • The provisions were packed over night and sent down by boat, in charge of the steward of the Gtdnare or some person specially told off for the purpose.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 63
   • When they were quite ready, the now triumphant Toad led his companions to the paddock and set them to capture the old grey horse, who, without having been consulted, and to his own extreme annoyance, had been told off by Toad for the dustiest job in this dusty expedition. He frankly preferred the...1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Methuen, page 17
3. (transitive) To count off (numbers, members of a sequence etc.); to enumerate.
   • The Recruit looked thoughtful and told off the days on his fingers.1903, Field and Stream, page 755

   Synonyms:

   enumerate

4. (transitive) To rebuke, to reprimand, or to admonish, often in a harsh, angry, direct way.
   • Joel's boss told him off for being late again.

   Synonyms:

   give somebody a piece of one's mind