"get on someone's case" meaning in English

See get on someone's case in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-get on someone's case.ogg Forms: gets on someone's case [present, singular, third-person], getting on someone's case [participle, present], got on someone's case [past], got on someone's case [UK, participle, past], gotten on someone's case [US, participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on someone's case}} get on someone's case (third-person singular simple present gets on someone's case, present participle getting on someone's case, simple past got on someone's case, past participle (UK) got on someone's case or (US) gotten on someone's case)
  1. (informal) To lecture, berate, or complain to somebody, especially to find fault or criticize. Tags: informal Synonyms: harangue, harass, on someone's case, be on someone's case, all variants of earlier on someone's back Translations (lecture, berate or complain to somebody): 挑錯 (Chinese Mandarin), 挑错 (tiāocuò) (Chinese Mandarin), 挑剔 (tiāoti) (Chinese Mandarin), 找岔子 (zhǎo chàzi) (Chinese Mandarin), saarnata (Finnish), morkata (Finnish), kitistä (Finnish), narista (Finnish), marmattaa (Finnish), valittaa (Finnish), moittia (Finnish), urputtaa (Finnish)

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on someone's case"
      },
      "expansion": "get on someone's case (third-person singular simple present gets on someone's case, present participle getting on someone's case, simple past got on someone's case, past participle (UK) got on someone's case or (US) gotten on someone's case)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "His boss was always getting on his case about his standards of dress, even though he worked well and seldom left the back room.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lecture, berate, or complain to somebody, especially to find fault or criticize."
      ],
      "id": "en-get_on_someone's_case-en-verb-WxD4Om~F",
      "links": [
        [
          "lecture",
          "lecture"
        ],
        [
          "berate",
          "berate"
        ],
        [
          "complain",
          "complain"
        ],
        [
          "find fault",
          "find fault"
        ],
        [
          "criticize",
          "criticize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) To lecture, berate, or complain to somebody, especially to find fault or criticize."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "harangue"
        },
        {
          "word": "harass"
        },
        {
          "word": "on someone's case"
        },
        {
          "word": "be on someone's case"
        },
        {
          "word": "all variants of earlier on someone's back"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "挑錯"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tiāocuò",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "挑错"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tiāoti",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "挑剔"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhǎo chàzi",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "找岔子"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "saarnata"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "morkata"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "kitistä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "narista"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "marmattaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "valittaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "moittia"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
          "word": "urputtaa"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-get on someone's case.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get on someone's case"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten on someone's case",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on someone's case"
      },
      "expansion": "get on someone's case (third-person singular simple present gets on someone's case, present participle getting on someone's case, simple past got on someone's case, past participle (UK) got on someone's case or (US) gotten on someone's case)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English predicates",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "His boss was always getting on his case about his standards of dress, even though he worked well and seldom left the back room.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lecture, berate, or complain to somebody, especially to find fault or criticize."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "lecture",
          "lecture"
        ],
        [
          "berate",
          "berate"
        ],
        [
          "complain",
          "complain"
        ],
        [
          "find fault",
          "find fault"
        ],
        [
          "criticize",
          "criticize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) To lecture, berate, or complain to somebody, especially to find fault or criticize."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-get on someone's case.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/En-au-get_on_someone%27s_case.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "harangue"
    },
    {
      "word": "harass"
    },
    {
      "word": "on someone's case"
    },
    {
      "word": "be on someone's case"
    },
    {
      "word": "all variants of earlier on someone's back"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "挑錯"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tiāocuò",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "挑错"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tiāoti",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "挑剔"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhǎo chàzi",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "找岔子"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "saarnata"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "morkata"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "kitistä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "narista"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "marmattaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "valittaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "moittia"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "lecture, berate or complain to somebody",
      "word": "urputtaa"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get on someone's case"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.