Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to let someone have it

to let someone have it

11 8.1
To angrily tell someone off
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : echarle la bronca a (a alguien)
  • When he broke curfew, his mother let him have it for being irresponsible.
  • really let him have it
  • going to let him have it
  • just let Nat have it

Examples

Synonyms

to punish
vsto let someone have it
821 1.0

Make someone suffer for doing something wrong

focuses more on harsh speech rather than causing suffering
to give someone a hard time
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
90 3.9

Make someone feel bad by criticizing or teasing them

is focused on words or penalties rather than ongoing discomfort
to scold
vsto let someone have it
55 2.2

Speak angrily to someone who has done something wrong

is broader including punishment beyond harsh speech
to let him have it
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
44 8.1

To tell someone angrily that they did something wrong

uses a neutral pronoun rather than a specific male form
to give someone hell
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
37 8.1

To scold someone very strongly for something they did

is more general and can cover milder rebukes or formal actions
to come down
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
37 5.9

To criticize someone strongly

is broader and may include milder reproach or punishment
to berate
vsto let someone have it
36 7.2

Scold someone angrily and severely

is broader covering harsh speech or actual punishment
to chastise
vsto let someone have it
  • Formal
33 7.6

To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong

is more general and can include punishment beyond correction
to reprimand
vsto let someone have it
  • Formal
33 6.1

To tell someone they did something wrong, usually by a person in charge

is less formal and can include angry private criticism
to rebuke
vsto let someone have it
  • Formal
26 6.9

To tell someone firmly that you do not approve of their actions

is broader and can include punishment beyond formal blame
to take to task
vsto let someone have it
18 6.3

To scold someone strongly for a mistake

is broader and can include punishment beyond reproach
to scorch
vsto let someone have it
15 7.3

To severely criticize someone or something

is less intensely worded and can include milder harshness
to castigate
vsto let someone have it
  • Formal
14 8.8

To criticize or punish someone very harshly

is similar but leans more toward verbal reproach than formal harm
to chew out
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
13 7.0

Scold someone angrily in front of others

is less colloquial and can include formal or physical penalties
to lambast
vsto let someone have it
12 8.2

To criticize someone very strongly and angrily

is milder and covers both harsh speech and possible punishment
to harsh on
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
7 5.8

Criticize someone in a very unkind way

is milder and covers formal disapproval without cruelty
to skin someone alive
vsto let someone have it
  • Offensive
6 8.8

To scold or punish someone severely to show strong anger, not a real action

is less figurative and can be both verbal or actual penalties
to give someone the business
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
5 8.3

Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong

is less idiomatic and can include official or milder responses
to rake over the coals
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
4 7.9

Scold someone very strongly for a mistake

is similar but can be private rather than public criticism
to upbraid
vsto let someone have it
  • Formal
3 8.8

To scold someone strongly for something they did wrong

is less tied to formality and can include punishment too
to dress down
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
3 6.3

To angrily tell someone they did something wrong

is broader and may also include informal angry outbursts
to chew up
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
2 7.1

To scold someone angrily and severely

is broader also covering punishment or milder rebukes
to tear (someone) a new one
vsto let someone have it
  • Offensive
2 9.9

To scold someone angrily

is less vulgar and can include nonverbal punishment as well
to give hell
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 8.1

To scold or punish someone angrily for something they did wrong

is broader and may include formal reprimand or punishment
to give someone what for
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 8.7

Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong

is more general and can include formal punishment or sanctions
to read the riot act
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 7.9

To scold someone strongly and warn them of punishment

is broader and can be a plain angry rebuke without threats
to haul over the coals
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 8.6

To scold someone very strongly for a mistake

is broader covering short rebukes or actual penalties
to have someone's head
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 9.1

To be very angry with someone and want to punish them

is less focused on dismissal or loss and more on reproach
to call down
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
1 6.8

Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong

is more general and can be private or less angry
to objurgate
vsto let someone have it
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong

is more general and can include punishments beyond verbal rebuke
to vituperate
vsto let someone have it
  • Offensive
9.9

To criticize someone angrily using harsh words

is broader and can mean formal blame or actual punishment
to give what-for
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
9.5

To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong

is broader including both words and possible penalties
to snap someone's head off
vsto let someone have it
  • Offensive
8.0

To speak to someone in a sudden angry way without good reason

is more deliberate and can include planned severe reprimand
to give (someone) a piece of one's mind
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
7.5

Tell someone angrily that you are upset with them

is usually harsher and can include punishment beyond spoken anger
to have someone's hide
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
7.9

To punish or scold someone strongly for making a mistake

is more about verbal harshness than actual threat or harm
to hand you your head
vsto let someone have it
  • UK
9.9

Scold someone very strongly, often in front of others

is less idiomatic and can be used in milder contexts
to chap someone's hide
vsto let someone have it
  • Informal
9.3

To scold someone angrily for something they did

is more general and can include formal criticism not threats
to put one's foot in someone's ass
vsto let someone have it
  • Offensive
9.9

To yell at or threaten someone to make them try harder

is less crude and can be only verbal criticism or warnings

Antonyms

to forgive
∞ 1.4

To stop feeling angry at someone or yourself for a mistake

praise
161 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

How Harsh

to punish
821 1.0
to let someone have it
  • Informal
11 8.1
to berate
36 7.2
to reprimand
  • Formal
33 6.1
to scold
55 2.2
to chide
22 7.0

Surface Forms

let someone have it infinitive
let someone have it past
let someone have it past participle
letting someone have it present participle
lets someone have it third person singular

Morphology

let + someone + have + it

The sense 'to scold or punish someone severely' is only partially recoverable because 'have' can mean 'experience' (so 'have it' could imply suffering something), but the role of 'let' (allow) and the vague pronoun 'it' make the intended punitive/scolding meaning idiomatic rather than strictly compositional. A B1 learner who knows the individual words might guess a related meaning but would likely be uncertain or misinterpret the phrase without prior exposure.

Etymology

Let someone have it may come from older times when to let an arrow or bullet have someone meant to shoot or hit them, so imagine someone letting a weapon fly at a person. That's why the phrase now means 'to scold or punish someone severely'.