definitions

put to the test

Try or check out something or someone, as in This tall grass will put our new lawnmower to the test, or Let's put Harry to the test and see if he knows the last 20 World Series winners. [Mid-1600s]

Nearby words

put to it, be, put to rights, put to sea, put to shame, put to sleep, put to the test, put together, put two and two together, put up, put up or shut up, put up with
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.