put to sleep
Idioms-
Bore utterly, as in That show put me to sleep . This hyperbolic term implies that something is so dull one could fall asleep.
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Kill, especially as a kindness, as in We had to put the cat to sleep . This euphemism dates from the mid-1900s.
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Subject to anesthesia, as in This injection will put you to sleep so you won't feel any pain .
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.
"Seeing Chester put to sleep was so hard, we didn't know if we'd see him alive again," said Kristy.
From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026
There’s no set time limit on when an animal must be adopted to avoid euthanizing, said Valles, adding that behavior or illness can make them a candidate for being put to sleep.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2025
The outcome: “She was put to sleep after seven days.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024
As a young veterinarian, I was called upon to put to sleep a pet I’d never met before.
From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2024
"That's what's wrong with the world today, don't nobody trust nobody. I can smell that hospital smell on you, son. You got enough ether in those clothes to put to sleep a dog!"
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
