Phrase guide

tan someone's hide

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To beat or spank someone, usually on their backside.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: have someone's hide, give someone what for, nail someone to the wall, amerce, castigate, chasten, chastise, come down on, correct, fix someone's wagon, have someone's guts for garters, have someone's head, give it to someone, give what for, gruel, malavogue, penalize, penance, punish, tan someone's hide, tar out, teach someone a lesson

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

By metaphor from tannery: beating hides (to condition them), tanning them (with dyes and chemicals), and so on.