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Glite Dictionary
to take the pee out of

to take the pee out of

9.9
Tease someone by making jokes about them
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk ðə piː aʊt ʌv/
  • Offensive
translation icon : tomar el pelo a
  • She's constantly taking the pee out of her brother for his bad jokes.

Examples

  • Stop taking the pee out of me!

  • You shouldn't take the pee out of people just because they dress differently.

  • Tom always likes to take the pee out of his friends whenever they make a mistake.

  • He always takes the pee out of his friends.

  • She's always taking the pee out of her brother because of his silly dance moves.

  • Whenever someone makes a mistake, Tom enjoys taking the pee out of his friends in a light-hearted way.

  • You shouldn't take the pee out of someone just for being different; it's unkind.

Synonyms

to laugh at
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
456 2.0

To make fun of someone in a mean way to show they are silly

is often more playful and may lack open scorn
to make fun of
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
307 2.3

Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed

is usually more playful and not always meant to harm
to tease
vsto take the pee out of
245 1.9

To make fun of someone in a way that annoys them

is more specifically British and can be more derisive
to ridicule
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
108 4.6

To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them

is less contemptuous and more likely playful or teasing
to joke about
vsto take the pee out of
80 2.9

Say something funny, often unkind, about someone or something

is often more sharply sarcastic or derisive in tone
to roast
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
33 5.5

To make fun of someone in a joking way, often in public

is usually informal and may be less formal or staged
to poke fun
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

is more British and can be directed with mild derision
to poke fun at
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
23 3.4

To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind

is chiefly British and can be more teasing than casual jokes
to make a mockery of
vsto take the pee out of
21 6.7

To treat something as silly and show no respect

is more about playful personal teasing than total dismissal
to take potshots at
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
4 8.1

To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas

is more direct and often aimed playfully at a person
to make sport of
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
2 7.5

To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them

is more British and can be milder and more joking
to take the mickey
vsto take the pee out of
  • Slang
1 9.1

To tease someone by making jokes about them in a friendly way

is similar but can carry a slightly more derisive tone
to pull someone's leg
vsto take the pee out of
  • Informal
1 4.1

To tell someone something that is not true to make them laugh

is similar but focuses on ironic or mocking remarks rather than lies
to take the pee
vsto take the pee out of
  • Slang
9.9

To tease someone by joking about them in a friendly way

is the longer British informal expression for the same action
to make game of
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
8.0

Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke

is more about light mocking rather than dismissing seriousness
to make shit of
vsto take the pee out of
  • Offensive
9.9

Say someone's work or ideas are not important and make them feel small

is usually less vulgar and more joking in social use

Antonyms

compliment
342 1.6

A polite remark that praises someone or something

praise
161 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

How Teasing

to ridicule
  • Offensive
108 4.6
to mock
  • Offensive
209 3.4
to take the pee out of
  • Offensive
9.9
to tease
245 1.9
to poke fun at
  • Offensive
23 3.4

Surface Forms

take the pee out of infinitive
took the pee out of past
taken the pee out of past participle
taking the pee out of present participle
takes the pee out of third person singular

Morphology

take + the + pee + out + of

The meaning 'to mock or tease' cannot be predicted from the literal meanings of 'take' + 'the' + 'pee' + 'out' + 'of' — 'pee' refers to urine and does not compositionally imply teasing. This is a colloquial British idiom (cf. 'take the piss'/'take the mickey') with an idiomatic sense and no transparent cross-linguistic logic, so a B1 learner knowing the words would not reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

Take the pee out of is a British saying that comes from an older phrase take the piss, meaning to make someone look silly. One popular story says it began as a joke about 'taking' a small private thing like pee and showing it to others to get a laugh, so the phrase now means 'to mock or tease someone'.