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• put-down
  put-down

  noun

  a landing of an aircraft.
• put down
  put down

  verb

  to make a written record of

put-down

American  

[poot-daun] / ˈpʊtˌdaʊn /

Or putdown

noun

• put-downs
  plural

1. a landing of an aircraft.

2. Informal.

   1. a disparaging, belittling, or snubbing remark.

   2. a remark or act intended to humiliate or embarrass someone.

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put down British  

verb

1. to make a written record of

2. to repress

   to put down a rebellion

3. to consider; account

   they put him down for an ignoramus

4. to attribute

   I put the mistake down to his inexperience

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

   the vet put the cat down

6. to table on the agenda

   the MPs put down a motion on the increase in crime

7. to put (a baby) to bed

8. to dismiss, reject, or humiliate

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noun

1. a cruelly crushing remark

put down Idioms  

1. Write down; also, enter in a list. For example, Please put down my name for a free ticket , or Put me down as a subscriber . [Second half of 1500s]

2. Bring to an end, repress, as in They managed to put down the rebellion in a single day , or We've got to put down these rumors about a takeover . [c. 1300]

3. Kill a sick animal, as in The vet said the dog must be put down . [Mid-1500s] Also see put away , def. 5.

4. Belittle, disparage, criticize, as in Her husband was always putting her down . [c. 1400] Also see run down , def. 6.

5. Ascribe, attribute, as in We put her poor performance down to stage fright . [Late 1700s]

6. Regard, classify, as in We put her down as a hypochondriac . [Mid-1800s]

7. Pay a deposit, as in We put down $2,000 for the car .

8. Store for future use, as in David put down ten cases of this year's Chablis . [Mid-1800s]

9. Land in an aircraft; also, land an aircraft, as in What time will we put down at Heathrow ? or She put the plane down exactly on the runway . [c. 1930]

10. Put a child to bed, as in The sitter said she'd put Brian down at 8:30 . [Second half of 1900s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• put-downs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of put-down

First recorded in 1960–65; noun use of verb phrase put down

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

put-down put down put-downs

“Obtuse” means “stupid” or “simpleminded” and is always a put-down in this context.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Trump, who has feuded with O'Donnell for decades, saw an opportunity for a put-down when the veteran comic's name came up during Wednesday's meeting.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025

Seeking to break the ice at their first summit in Singapore, Trump told Kim the nickname wasn’t as much of a put-down as it sounded.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2023

The German accused the Dane of being "unsporting" and Magnussen responded with a withering put-down.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2022

I floundered for a killer put-down line without any stammer words in it.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

"So many teenagers, it's put down to hormones and unfortunately they said they see it every day."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

In 2017, Tesla said it would sell 1,000 special “Founders Series” models, each of which required buyers to put down a total $250,000 to lock in their reservations.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

After all, both are immigrants who chose to put down roots in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

As a result, housing affordability was even worse back then, but low home prices allowed buyers to put down larger-percentage down payments to help mitigate the higher rate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“They put down the Bear Stearns credit card and started buying rounds of ammunition,” said Charlie.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Trump's spokeswoman -- who is best known for her acid put-downs of journalists -- posted a picture of herself in a nursery, cradling her baby daughter to her chest.

From Barron's ● May 7, 2026

Plaza says that Waters is known for being provocative and loves reading tabloids but that he asked to tone down Armando’s snide put-downs of celebrities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026

The first Stanford was made of real students, who defy tidy put-downs of “kids these days.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Long may his critics - whoever and wherever they are - take potshots at him, because the put-downs make him rise up.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025

Savanna’s really good at those kinds of put-downs, where it’s all in the eyes and the corners of the mouth.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

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