Definition of "give someone hell" in English

Verb

1. To castigate someone; to dress them down.

   • His boss really gave him hell when she found out that he'd been lying about filing the reports.

2. To torment; To make miserable.

3. To put up a fight against; to battle strongly and effectively.

   • A nickname of U.S. President Harry Truman was "Give-'em-Hell Harry" because he could really give them hell when he wanted to.