Boss around means to keep telling someone what to do in an unpleasant way. The expression is informal and disapproving: people use it about someone who gives orders without the right to, or too harshly. The person being bossed goes in the middle: She bosses me around.
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boss sb around; boss me/him/them around; BrE also boss sb about; bossy (adj)
- My new flatmate tries to boss everyone around, even the landlord.
- A good team leader gives clear tasks without bossing people around.
- Stop bossing your little sister around and let her choose the game.
What changed
First versionMy older colleague always commands me when our manager is away.
RevisionMy older colleague always bosses me around when our manager is away.
Command may look like the right verb, but it belongs to the army and official orders. For an older brother or a colleague who keeps giving instructions, say boss someone around. We changed only the verb, and me moved inside the expression.
Manage or lead means to be in charge of people as part of a job, and it sounds neutral: She manages a team of ten. Boss around always sounds critical. The adjective bossy describes such a person: My sister can be really bossy.
Your turn
Tom joined the team a week ago and isn't a manager, but he already ___, and everyone is annoyed.
Show the answer
bosses people around — Tom is not a manager: he gives orders without having the right to, and everyone is annoyed, so bosses people around. Manages people would mean he officially leads the team, and Tom is not in charge.
Think of someone who liked telling others what to do: at school, at work or at home. Write who it was and how they behaved.
In my first job, a senior colleague bossed all the interns around and made us fetch his coffee.
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