upbraid

UK/ˌʌpˈbɹeɪd/US/ˌʌpˈbɹeɪd/

verbC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — braid sits at #8,489leans spoken

Other forms: upbraided, upbraids, upbraiding

To upbraid is to reprove somebody sharply. Upbraid a colleague.

It is done face to face and out loud, which separates it from criticising in general. To upbraid somebody is old-fashioned in speech and alive in novels.

Definitions of upbraid

1verbupbraidTo reprove somebody sharply.C2
“She upbraided him in front of the whole office.”

upbraid is an action.

Where it comes from

Old English upbregdan, to bring up against, from up plus bregdan, to move quickly or weave.

Middle English
upbreiden
English, today
upbraid

From Middle English upbreiden. From Middle English upbreiden, from Old English upbreġdan, equivalent to up- + braid. Compare English umbraid (“to upbraid”), Icelandic bregða (“to draw, brandish, braid, deviate from, change, break off, upbraid”). See up, and braid transitive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

← Vocabulary

upbraid

UK/ˌʌpˈbɹeɪd/US/ˌʌpˈbɹeɪd/

verbC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — braid sits at #8,489leans spoken

Other forms: upbraided, upbraids, upbraiding

To upbraid is to reprove somebody sharply. Upbraid a colleague.

It is done face to face and out loud, which separates it from criticising in general. To upbraid somebody is old-fashioned in speech and alive in novels.

Definitions of upbraid

1verbupbraidTo reprove somebody sharply.C2
“She upbraided him in front of the whole office.”

upbraid is an action.

Where it comes from

Old English upbregdan, to bring up against, from up plus bregdan, to move quickly or weave.

Middle English
upbreiden
English, today
upbraid

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA