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# bully

noun (a bully, bullies); verb (bully, bullies, bullied, bullying)

«bully» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A bully is a person who hurts, frightens or picks on someone smaller or weaker again and again on purpose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#m1)
2. To bully someone is to keep hurting, threatening, teasing or leaving them out on purpose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#m2)
3. Bully can also be an old friendly word for a good fellow, used when speaking warmly to a friend. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#m3)

### In the lessons

In school and safety lessons: bullying can be hitting, name-calling, spreading rumours, leaving people out or online (cyberbullying); it is never the victim's fault; tell a trusted adult and stand up for others. In stories, bullies often learn a lesson or the hero finds courage. Phrases: stand up to a bully, anti-bullying, be bullied.

### Examples

- Tell a teacher if someone is bullying you. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x1)
- The bully took his lunch money. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x2)
- Being bullied is never your fault. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x3)
- We stood up for her when the bully called her names. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x4)
- Our school has an anti-bullying week. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x5)
- Bullying online is called cyberbullying. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x6)
- A real friend never bullies you. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x7)
- The bully said sorry in the end. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/#x8)

### Note

Plural: bullies; past: bullied (y changes to i). Bullying means it happens again and again on purpose; one fight or one rude comment is unkind but not always bullying. «Bully for you!» is an old phrase meaning «well done» (often sarcastic).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bully» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bully/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bully» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bully.html) on Mova free.