take down a notch
To cause a person's or group's self-esteem or importance to be decreasedTo cause a person's or group's self-esteem or importance to be decreased.
» We need to take Tom down a notch.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(idiomatic, transitive)To cause a person's or group's self-esteem or importance to be decreased.
(idiomatic, transitive)To cause the quantity, degree, or intensity of something to be decreased.
Examples
8 sentencesWe need to take Tom down a notch.
I'd like to take Tom down a notch.
Let's take it down a notch.
We're taking it up a notch.
Take it down a notch, Tom.
Translations
2 languagesForms
takes down a notch, taking down a notch, took down a notch, taken down a notch| Base form | take down a notch · to take down a notch |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | takes down a notch |
| Present participle | taking down a notch |
| Past simple | took down a notch |
| Past participle | taken down a notch |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
10 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.