scare the pants off

verb

To scare or startle someone thoroughly.

“He liked the water rides, but the big roller-coaster scared the pants off him.”

Similar
scare someone's pants off
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Meanings

verbscare the pants off (third-person singular simple present scares the pants off, present participle scaring the pants off, simple past and past participle scared the pants off)

present singular third person scares the pants off · participle present scaring the pants off · participle past scared the pants off · past scared the pants off

  1. idiomaticslangTo scare or startle someone thoroughly.

    He liked the water rides, but the big roller-coaster scared the pants off him.

    Synonyms: scare someone's pants off

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo scare or startle someone thoroughly.

Similar
scare someone's pants off
Also see
scare the bejeebers out of
Cite this entry
APA

scare the pants off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20the%20pants%20off

MLA

“scare the pants off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20the%20pants%20off. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scare the pants off,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20the%20pants%20off.

Source: scare the pants off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.