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

Even if you can only put away a little bit each year, it will compound and this money will help you sustain your lifestyle in retirement.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Both of those add up to a 10% total employer contribution, but employees don’t need to put away as much in order to get it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

The game also saw one of football's modern greats put away a penalty.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Marseille returns to the door and the officer again asks if she put away the dog.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026

J.T. and I—we’ll pig out on Bagel Bites and frozen cheese pizza—and we can put away a whole bag of spicy nacho chips between us.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

Related Words

• polish off
• put down