/ ˈpɪləri; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( pil·lor·ies , pil·lory·ing , pil·lor·ied , pil·lor·ied ) [ vn ] [ often passive ] to criticize sb strongly in public :
He was regularly pilloried by the press for his radical ideas.
■ noun
( pl. -ies ) a wooden frame, with holes for the head and hands, which people were locked into in the past as a punishment
—compare stocks (9)
For more information see the Cultural Guide
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French pilori , probably from Provençal espilori (associated by some with a Catalan word meaning peephole, of uncertain origin).