put away

British  

verb

1. to return (something) to the correct or proper place

   he put away his books

2. to save

   to put away money for the future

3. to lock up in a prison, mental institution, etc

   they put him away for twenty years

4. to eat or drink, esp in large amounts

5. to put to death, because of old age or illness

   the dog had to be put away

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put away Idioms  

1. Place in a designated spot for storage; also, place out of reach. For example, Please put away your clothes , or This young tennis player can really put away the ball . Also see set aside , def. 1.

2. Renounce, discard, as in Put away all those negative thoughts . [Late 1300s]

3. Consume quickly, ingest readily, as in He put away his dinner in just a few minutes . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]

4. Confine to a mental health facility, as in The doctor said we had to put her away . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]

5. Kill, as in The vet put our old cat away . [ Colloquial ; late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

put away

"For savers, regularly check that your savings are earning a competitive return and that you have the right balance between easy access and money you can afford to put away for longer."

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

“I really hope this does something in the Hollywood psyche, where they go, ‘Let’s put away the remakes and let’s just get after new challenging, original material.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

In some of these plans, older higher-earners can put away as much as $397,000 a year, though younger and lower-paid people have lower limits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Here and there, stewards asked some fans to put away the banners or face expulsion, but hundreds remained on display during the game inside the 70,000-seat stadium.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

Eating swiftly, Old Tallow put away one bowl and then another while Mama was dishing up the rest of the meal.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

Related Words

• polish off
• put down