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# scold

«scold» in Mova's school dictionary: **to speak to them angrily because they have done something…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (scold, scolds, scolded, scolding); noun scolding (a scolding)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To scold someone is to speak to them angrily because they have done something wrong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#m1)

2) A scolding is an angry telling-off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#m2)

3) (old-fashioned) A scold was a person, especially a woman, who often nagged or complained. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and stories, parents and teachers scold children for being naughty; it tells the reader someone is in trouble but not punished harshly. In the UK people more often say "tell off", in Australia "growl at". Phrases: "scold someone for", "get a scolding", "a good scolding".

### examples

- Mum scolded me for leaving my muddy boots on the carpet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x1)
- The teacher scolded the boys for running in the corridor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x2)
- I got a scolding for being late home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x3)
- The farmer scolded the dog for chasing the sheep. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x4)
- "You should know better!" scolded Grandma. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x5)
- (Australia, informal) Dad growled at us — he really scolded us for fighting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x6)
- The woman scolded the old man. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/#x7)

### note

Regular verb: scolded. Pattern: "scold someone for doing something". Everyday synonyms: tell off (UK), give out to (Ireland, informal: "Mam gave out to me"), chew out (US, informal). It is milder than punish: scolding is only words.

### In the corpora

- [When he opens his eyes, his own river looks grey and chilly, and his loyal heart scolds him for being a traitor.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/57-willows-ch9-part2-the-swallows/3/)
- [The priest did not scold him for coming back.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/339-borrowing-without-asking/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «scold» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scold/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.