put through
Britishverb
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to carry out to a conclusion
he put through his plan
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(also preposition) to organize the processing of
she put through his application to join the organization
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to connect by telephone
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to make (a telephone call)
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Bring to a successful conclusion, as in We put through a number of new laws . [Mid-1800s]
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Make a telephone connection, as in Please put me through to the doctor . [Late 1800s]
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Cause to undergo, especially something difficult or troublesome, as in He put me through a lot during this last year . The related expression, put someone through the wringer , means “to give someone a hard time,” as in The lawyer put the witness through the wringer . The wringer alluded to is the old-fashioned clothes wringer, in which clothes are pressed between two rollers to extract moisture. [First half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Norman told the BBC he wanted the government to apologise for what people like him had been put through.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“What he got put through probably would have destroyed 99% of people in his shoes,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Cellphones were banned from the ceremony, bags were closely screened and delegates put through a metal detector by a sizable security force.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The freshman lineman was put through rigorous drills by strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis, according to the attorney general’s office, even though Kulbis knew Dickey Jr. had sickle-cell trait.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“We’re sorry. Calls to Puerto Rico cannot be put through at this time.”
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
