English Explanatory Dictionary

lay a glove on

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To hit with a boxing glove.
  2. To physically touch, especially in a way that causes hurt.
  3. To harm (someone's) reputation, to make an accusation stick.
  4. To match, to provide with meaningful competition or be able to handle.

Word forms

lay a glove on lays a glove on laying a glove on laid a glove on

Etymology

From the sport of boxing, referring to managing to hit someone with one's boxing glove.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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