From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtell somebody ↔ off phrasal verbif someone in authority tells you off, they speak to you angrily about something wrong that you have donebe/get told off Shelley was one of those kids who was always getting told off at school.tell somebody off for doing something My dad told me off for swearing. → tell→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
tell off• Instead what occurred to him were ways of telling people off.• They were told to bog off.• What, you thought I would tell you right off?• Dad was always telling her off about that, about how it cracked the shoe leather and led to big repairs.• His mum must have told him off for being such a cheat.• Did anyone really do themselves any good by telling somebody off on the telephone or getting angry in a traffic jam?• After about an inch I was told to switch off while he checked the angle and depth of cut.• You're told to take off your clothes and put on a gown that doesn't fit at the back.tell somebody off for doing something• Her parents were always telling her off for going on about things being boring.• His mum must have told him off for being such a cheat.• Mummy told him off for saying it when I was there.• She told herself off for not being attentive enough, for not finding the right words to encourage him to go on.• And Mum's always telling me off for doing things wrong. 