put to bed

1. Complete something and either set it aside or send it on to the next step, as in We put the magazine to bed at ten, or They said they'd put the whole project to bed at least a month ago. This expression, transferring nighttime retirement to other kinds of completion, was first applied to a newspaper, where it meant “send to press,” that is, start to print. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

In the meantime, three tired children had to be put to bed, which meant it was time for their governess to read aloud.

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“I will personally see to it that the Incorrigible children are fed, bathed, and put to bed properly, with a bedtime story read-aloud and a cozy tucking in. Veni, vidi, vici!”

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Certainly, the Incorrigible children had long since been put to bed.

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The Incorrigibles wanted the sleepy baby dodos to be put to bed properly in a cozy room, with a glass of warm milk and a copy of Nursery Rhymes for the Nearly Extinct close at hand.

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By beating Canada in front of a world record crowd at Twickenham, the Red Roses ended their run of two straight final losses and put to bed the ghost of 2022, the scene of their most heart-wrenching defeat.

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Related Words

• accomplish 
• achieve 
• close 
• conclude 
• determine 
• develop 
• do 
• end 
• execute 
• finalize 
• finish 
• halt 
• perform 
• realize 
• settle 
• wrap up