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Glite Dictionary
to tattle on

to tattle on

5 7.5
To tell a person in charge that someone did something wrong to get them in trouble
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈtætəl ɑn/
  • Informal
: delatar a
  • Think you're gonna tattle on him?

Bam on their desk and I would leave voicemails for him like hey man, because they would call and tattle on each other.

Examples

  • Your mother tells me you tattled on me.

    The Night of the Hunter (1955)

  • You know we've never tattled on each other.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • And he would give me a quarter for every... every guy that I tattled on.

    The Apprentice (2024)

  • Additionally, students with special needs were told not to tattle on others.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Look, I'm sorry that I tattled on you two.

    Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)

  • "Why did you have to tattle on me?" he wondered.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Toby might tattle on you.

    Robin Hood (1973)

  • Nor would he tattle on the troublemakers.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "I won't tattle on you."

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I can't believe you would tattle on your friend for breaking the rules.

Synonyms

to rat out
vsto tattle on
  • Informal
80 8.6

To tell the police or another authority about someone's bad action, betraying their trust

is less about deliberate betrayal and more about petty disloyalty
to tell on
vsto tattle on
  • Informal
47 4.4

To report to a person in charge that someone did something wrong so they get in trouble

is more often viewed as disloyal or petty rather than official reporting
to blow the whistle
vsto tattle on
39 5.1

To tell the authorities or the public about wrongdoing

is more likely to be petty and disloyal rather than a serious exposure
to tattle
vsto tattle on
  • Informal
10 7.0

Tell a person in charge about someone else's bad actions in a childish way

is similar but focuses on telling an authority rather than mere gossip
to dob in
vsto tattle on
  • UK
1 9.9

To tell the police or a teacher that someone did something wrong

is seen as more petty or disloyal than neutral informing

Antonyms

to excuse
∞ 2.2

Forgive a fault or bad behaviour

to defend
774 1.3

To protect people and things from attack or harm

How Disloyal

to snitch
  • Slang
51 7.9
to rat out
  • Informal
80 8.6
to tattle on
  • Informal
5 7.5
to tell on
  • Informal
47 4.4
to report
533 1.6
to inform
682 1.0

Surface Forms

tattle on infinitive
tattled on past
tattled on past participle
tattling on present participle
tattles on third person singular

Morphology

tattle + on

The meaning 'to report someone’s misbehavior to an authority' is directly derived from combining 'tattle' (to inform on someone) with the preposition 'on' indicating the target of the reporting; there is no idiomatic shift. This is a straightforward verb+preposition composition common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Tattle on may come from children who told adults about small wrongs. Think of a child whispering to a teacher to tattle on a friend; that image of telling an adult is why it means 'to report someone's misbehavior', often in a petty or disloyal way.