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.
Conversely, consider general anesthetics: When patients have their interoception shut down, they are also put to sleep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"My brain does not compute having a dog that looks healthy put to sleep," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
"I was sobbing as I was put to sleep, and I was sobbing when I woke up."
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2025
The outcome: “She was put to sleep after seven days.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
Brynhild, a Valkyrie, has disobeyed Odin and is punished by being put to sleep until some man shall wake her.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
