put-up
adjective
planned beforehand in a secret or crafty manner.
put-up
American
[poot-uhp]
/ ˈpʊtˌʌp /
adjective
Informal.
put up
British
verb
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to build; erect
to put up a statue
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to accommodate or be accommodated at
can you put me up for tonight?
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to increase (prices)
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to submit or present (a plan, case, etc)
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to offer
to put a house up for sale
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to provide or supply; give
to put up a good fight
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to provide (money) for; invest in
they put up five thousand for the new project
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to preserve or can (jam, etc)
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to pile up (long hair) on the head in any of several styles
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(also intr) to nominate or be nominated as a candidate, esp for a political or society post
he put his wife up as secretary
he put up for president
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archaic to return (a weapon) to its holder, as a sword to its sheath
put up your pistol!
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to inform or instruct (a person) about (tasks, duties, etc)
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to urge or goad (a person) on to; incite to
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informal to endure; tolerate
adjective
put up
Idioms
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Erect, build; also, lift to a higher position. For example, They put up three new houses on our street , or She looks more grownup when she puts up her hair in a bun . [c. 1600]
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Preserve, can, as in She put up countless jars of jam . [Early 1800s]
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Nominate, as in Tom put up Peter for president . [Late 1500s]
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Provide funds, especially in advance, as in They put up nearly a million for the new museum .
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put someone up . Provide lodgings for, as in We can put you up for the night . [Mid-1700s]
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Startle game from cover, as in The hunter put up three grouse . [Late 1400s]
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Offer for sale, as in They had to put up their last antiques . [Early 1700s]
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Make a display or appearance of, as in They were actually broke but put up a good front . [First half of 1800s]
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Do well in a contest, as in They put up a good fight . [Late 1800s]
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Stake money for a bet, as in Each player put up ten dollars . [Mid-1800s]
Etymology
Origin of put-up
First recorded in 1800–10; adj. use of verb phrase put up
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.
See Examples For:
Mr McLachlan continued: "Been put-up to being here?"
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2023
“This is not quite a put-up job, but nonetheless has been cobbled together so that Ghislaine is made to face the charges that Epstein never faced,’’ Ian Maxwell said.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Takeover Panel extends CD&R's "put-up or shut-up" deadline until Aug. 20.
From Reuters ● Oct. 1, 2021
“My attitude was: It was put-up or shut-up time,” Barr said in the piece published in the Atlantic under the headline “William Barr Speaks.”
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2021
The pantry is shelved floor to ceiling with pickles and soup jars, molasses, put-up vegetables, and preserves.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
New listings refer to homes that were recently put up for sale.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Many of those are unaccompanied minors who will eventually be returned to Morocco after Spanish officials locate their families, while some sub-Saharan Africans will be put up in a nearby migrant camp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
She also said, "I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Stevens put up strong numbers in rural parts of the state to supplement her leads in metro Detroit, though that wasn’t quite enough to offset the margins El-Sayed posted in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
He made our beds out of fence posts he got for helping Tin Harper put up a fence on his ranch.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
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.
