Meanings
phrase
- Used after someone has done something bad and has got punished for it, to learn from their mistake
A big red-faced man next to Jeremy was crying over and over again: "That'll teach him to meddle with our women." "That'll teach him to meddle with our women."
1992, Hugh Walpole, Jeremy and the Ruffians
Cite this entry
APA
that'll teach someone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that'll%20teach%20someone
MLA
“that'll teach someone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that'll%20teach%20someone. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that'll teach someone,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that'll%20teach%20someone.
Source: that'll teach someone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.