even the score

English

Etymology

By analogy to scorekeeping in sports.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Verb

even the score (third-person singular simple present evens the score, present participle evening the score, simple past and past participle evened the score)

  1. (idiomatic) To seek or obtain revenge against someone.
    Synonyms: settle the score, settle a score
    Near-synonyms: pay off old scores, pay back in someone's own coin
    When the student pulled a prank on the principal, the principal evened the score by giving the student a suspension.

Translations

Translations
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