"to put somebody in their place" is show someone verbally or physically that they are not as important as they think they are Examples: 1.She didn't respond to my invitation at all and so I was put firmly in my place. 2.The criminals didn't like informants, so they put them in their place for good.

put (someone) in (someone's) place To lower the dignity of (someone); humble. If someone is climbing too high, you put them in their place. Basically, you tell them where they belong, and should not interfere with matters that do not concern them. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/put+%28someone%29+in+%28someone%27s%29+place

To "put one in his place" is to impose upon a person your opinion or what you believe to be the truth, sometimes by stating a fact. You are changing the person's attitude or belief. "David thought that he could come to work an hour late. I told him that he is wrong and really put him in his place" "Did you see the way that man was looking at me? I [yelled at him] and put him in his place"