Hi, Oscar! To me, "to bring somebody down" can mean one of two things. 1) To cause someone to feel down or depressed. E.g. "Lauren is really starting to bring me down. She won't stop going on about her troubles at work." 2) To cause someone to lose power. The head of the gang was brought down by an undercover agent. "To knock somebody down a peg or two" is a phrase that means to make someone feel less important/arrogant.

Your example seems fine, but that must be a British usage. In American English, we would say "put him in his place."

After the high of his exam success, the parking ticket he found afterwards brought him down. Bringing down: to get deflated after a success. Even the rain could bring him down on his wedding day. He was so happy. P.S. there is also another meaning to "bringing down": "The animal was brought down by the arrow of the hunter" Something causes someone or something to fall.

The phrasal verb "bring someone down" can indeed have the meaning of making a person realize that they are not as special or superior as they think they are. In your sentence, "I can't stand his haughty demeanor. Someone should bring him down," the usage is correct and conveys the intended meaning. It suggests that someone should humble or deflate his ego, making him aware of his attitude or behavior. Here are a few more examples: "Her constant bragging about her achievements needs to stop. It's time someone brought her down a peg or two." "He thinks he's the best player on the team, but a few losses might bring him down a notch." "Being in a diverse and inclusive environment can help bring down people who have overly inflated egos." These examples illustrate the use of "bring someone down" to indicate the act of making someone aware of their excessive self-importance or arrogance.

‘bring him down’ with the meaning you’re asking about needs to be followed with some kind of measure (a notch, a peg, a bit …) His string of wins has made him insufferable. I’m hoping for a loss that will bring him down a notch. This defeat will bring him down a peg or two, but I don’t think he’s capable of humility. By itself, without a measure, you’d typically be talking about someone’s actual defeat, not their attitude. The massive riots brought down the government. Many tried, but nobody was able to bring him down. He retired undefeated.