bring to book

• Rhymes: -ʊk

bring to book (third-person singular simple present brings to book, present participle bringing to book, simple past and past participle brought to book)

1. (UK) To penalise someone for a punishable offence.

   The perpetrators of this atrocity must be brought to book.

   • 2011 May 4, Ian Tomlinson, “Unlawfully killed by the law”, in The Guardian:

     […] and in the failure to bring the Met to book over the de Menezes case, other than through health and safety laws.

• Very commonly used in the passive voice, as in the example.

• bring to justice
• throw the book at

• “bring to book”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “bring somebody to book” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “bring sb to book”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “bring someone to book” (US) / “bring someone to book” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.