put

[ poot ]

/ pʊt /

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See synonyms for: put / putting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), put, put·ting.

to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position: I put the book on the shelf.

to bring into some relation, state, etc.: After the work, they put everything in order and cleaned up after themselves.

to place in the charge or power of a person, institution, etc.: The child welfare agency put her in foster care.

to subject to the endurance or suffering of something: During the Cold War, convicted spies were put to death.

to set to a duty, task, action, etc.: I put him to work setting the table.

to force or drive to some course or action: A handful of archers put the whole army to flight.

to render or translate, as into another language: He put the novel into French.

to provide (words) with music as accompaniment; set: Donovan put Lewis Carroll’s famous poem “Jabberwocky” to music.

to assign or attribute: You put a political interpretation on everything.

to set at a particular place, point, amount, etc., in a scale of estimation: I'd put the distance at five miles.

to bet or wager: They put two dollars on Saucy Lady, the gray mare.

to express or state: To put it mildly, I don't understand.

to apply, as to a use or purpose: During your internship you’ll put your knowledge to practical use.

to set, give, or make: Let’s put an end to all this nonsense right now.

to propose or submit for answer, consideration, deliberation, etc.: I promised to put this question before the committee.

to impose, as a burden, charge, or the like: The government has put a tax on luxury articles.

to invest (often followed by in or into): They put all their money into real estate.

to lay the blame of (usually followed by on, to, etc.): He put my failure to lack of experience.

to throw or cast, especially with a forward motion of the hand when raised close to the shoulder: In track and field, I was able to put the shot 35 feet.

verb (used without object), put, put·ting.

to go, move, or proceed: to put to sea.

Informal. to begin to travel: When the rain stopped, we put for home and got there by noon.

to shoot out or grow, or send forth shoots or sprouts.

noun

a throw or cast, especially one made with a forward motion of the hand when raised close to the shoulder.

Also called put op·tion. Finance. an option that gives the right to sell a fixed amount of a particular stock at a predetermined price within a given time, purchased by a person who expects the stock to decline.Compare call (def. 52).

Verb Phrases

put about,

Nautical. to change direction, as on a course.
to start (a rumor); circulate.
to inconvenience; trouble.
to disturb; worry.
to turn in a different direction.

put across,

to cause to be understood or received favorably: She put across her new idea. He puts himself across well.
to do successfully; accomplish: to put a project across.
to be successful in (a form of deception): It was obviously a lie, but he put it across.

put aside / by

to store up; save: He put aside some dried fruit, water, and energy bars in anticipation of the predicted heavy snowfall.I have some money put by for a rainy day.
Also set aside. to put out of the way; place to one side: Put aside your books and come for a walk.

put away,

to put in the designated place for storage: Put away the groceries as soon as you get home.
to save, especially for later use: to put away a few dollars each week.
to discard: Put away those childish notions.
to drink or eat, especially in a large quantity; finish off: to put away a hearty meal after jogging.
to confine in a jail or a mental institution: He was put away for four years.
to put (an animal) to death by humane means: The dog was so badly injured that the veterinarian had to put it away.

put down,

to write down; register; record: I used to put down my thoughts in a personal journal, but now I publish them on my blog.
to enter in a list, as of subscribers or contributors: Put me down for a $10 donation.
to suppress; check; squelch: to put down a rebellion.
to attribute; ascribe: We put your mistakes down to nervousness.
to regard or categorize: He was put down as a chronic complainer.
to produce or execute (something) successfully; throw down: He was the only skater to put down a clean short program.
Informal. to criticize, especially in a contemptuous manner; disrespect: The team leader put down support staff and ignored their contributions.
Informal. to belittle, humiliate, or embarrass: Misogynists put down women to keep them subservient.
to pay as a deposit: The more money you put down, the less you’ll pay in interest.
to store for future use: to put down a case of wine.
to dig or sink, as a well.
to put (an animal) to death by humane means; put to sleep: The horse had to be put down after suffering a catastrophic racing injury on the track.
to land an aircraft or in an aircraft: We put down at Orly after six hours.

put forth,

to bring out; bear; grow: The trees are putting forth new green shoots.
to propose; present: No one has put forth a workable solution.
to bring to public notice; publish: A new interpretation of the doctrine has been put forth.
to exert; exercise: We will have to put forth our best efforts to win.
to set out; depart: Dark clouds threatened as we put forth from the shore.

put forward,

to propose; suggest: I hesitated to put forward my plan.
to present or promote (oneself or another) for a task, role, etc., or as having certain qualities or qualifications: We should put her forward for treasurer. He puts himself forward as an expert in combating antisemitism.

put in,

Also put into. Nautical. to enter a port or harbor, especially for shelter, repairs, or provisions: Viking fleets often put in at Norman ports for provisions.
to interpose; intervene.
to spend (time) as indicated: She put in two hours at the piano almost every day for years.

put in for, to apply for or request (something): I put in for a transfer to another department.

put off,

to postpone; defer: I put off my yearly visit to the eye doctor for a month.
to confuse or perturb; disconcert; repel: We were put off by the book's abusive tone.
to get rid of by delay or evasion: She put him off, claiming to already have plans for the evening.
to lay aside; take off: She put off her shoes with a sigh of relief.
to start out, as on a voyage: We packed a picnic lunch and put off for the little island in the middle of the lake.
to launch (a boat) from shore or from another vessel: They began to put off the lifeboats as the fire spread.

put on,

to clothe oneself with (an article of clothing).
to assume insincerely or falsely; pretend: She put on a smile and choked out a welcome.
to assume; adopt.
to inflict; impose.
to cause to be performed; produce; stage: The troupe put on a play by an little-known writer.
Informal. to tease (a person), especially by pretending the truth of something that is untrue: You can't be serious—you're putting me on, aren't you?
to act in a pretentious or ostentatious manner; exaggerate: All that putting on didn't impress anyone.

put out,

to extinguish, as a fire.
to confuse; embarrass.
to be vexed or annoyed: He was put out when I missed our appointment.
to subject to inconvenience.
Baseball, Softball, Cricket. to cause to be removed from an opportunity to reach base or score; retire.
to publish: She puts out a new mystery every other year.
to go out to sea: The fishermen put out well before sunrise.
to manufacture; prepare; produce: The factory puts out thousands of candy bars an hour.
to exert; apply: They were putting out their best efforts.
Slang: Offensive. (usually of a woman) to demonstrate willingness or offer to engage in sexual intercourse: I’m not the kind of gal who puts out on the first date.

put over,

to succeed in; accomplish: It will take an exceptional administrator to put over this reorganization.
to postpone; defer: Discussion of this point will be put over until new evidence is introduced.

put through,

to complete successfully; execute: He was not able to put through his project.
to bring about; effect: The proposed revisions have not as yet been put through.
to make a telephone connection for: Put me through to Los Angeles.
to make (a telephone connection): Put a call through to Hong Kong.
to cause to undergo or endure: She's been put through a lot the past year.

put up,

to construct; erect: The town is putting up a new civic center where the old library used to be.
to can (vegetables, fruits, etc.); preserve (jam, jelly, etc.): At the end of every summer they put up jars and jars of tomatoes from their garden.
to set or arrange (the hair).
to provide (money); contribute: A number of people put up $5,000 apiece, getting the fund-raiser off to a very good start.
to accommodate; lodge: Friends offered to put me up for the weekend, and I took them to a fancy restaurant as a thank-you.
to display; show.
to stake (money) to support a wager: He put up fifty bucks to get into the football pool.
to propose as a candidate; nominate: Someone is going to put him up for president.
to offer, especially for public sale: She put up several valuable pieces of art to raise money for the charity.
Archaic. to sheathe one's sword; stop fighting.

put upon, to take unfair advantage of; impose upon: Some of the employees felt put upon when they were asked to work late.

put up to, to provoke; prompt; incite: Someone put him up to calling us.

put up with, to endure; tolerate; bear: I couldn't put up with the noise any longer.

OTHER WORDS FOR put

16 levy, inflict.

See synonyms for put on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about put

put it to, Slang.

to overburden with work, blame, etc.: They really put it to him in officer-training school.
to take advantage of; cheat: That used car dealer put it to me good.

put oneself out, to take pains; go to trouble or expense: She has certainly put herself out to see that everyone is comfortable.

put something over on, to take advantage of; deceive: He suspected that his friend had put something over on him, but he had no proof.

put to it, to be confronted with a problem; have difficulty: We were put to it to find the missing notebook.

stay put, Informal. to remain in the same position; refuse to move: The baby wouldn't stay put, and kept trying to climb out of the playpen.

Origin of put

First recorded before 1000; Middle English put(t)en “to push, thrust, put,” Old English putian (attested only in verbal noun putung “an impelling, inciting”); akin to pytan, potian “to push, goad,” cognate with Old Norse pota “to thrust, poke”

synonym study for put

1. Put, place, lay, set mean to bring or take an object (or cause it to go) to a certain location or position, there to leave it. Put is the general word: to put the dishes on the table; to put one's hair up. Place is a more formal word, suggesting precision of movement or definiteness of location: He placed his hand on the Bible. Lay, meaning originally to cause to lie, and set, meaning originally to cause to sit, are used particularly to stress the position in which an object is put: lay usually suggests putting an object rather carefully into a horizontal position: to lay a pattern out on the floor. Set usually means to place upright: to set a child on a horse.

OTHER WORDS FROM put

well-put, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH put

put , putt

Words nearby put

pustular, pustulate, pustulation, pustule, pustulous, put, put about, put a bug in someone's ear, put across, put a damper on, put all one's eggs in one basket

How to use put in a sentence

To put it rather uncharitably, the USPHS practiced a major dental experiment on a city full of unconsenting subjects.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Kennedy: "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind."
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When I put their allegations to Epstein, he denied them and went into overdrive.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

We did ThunderAnt stuff for ourselves and just put it online, and then it blossomed into something else.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was voluble in his declarations that they would “put the screws” to Ollie on the charge of perjury.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
This is the place where the Muscovite criminals are banished to, if they are not put to death.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
Let them open their minds to us, let them put upon permanent record the significance of all their intrigues and manœuvres.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Before the spinet a bench was placed about four feet below the keys, and I was put upon the bench.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for put

put

/ (pʊt) /

verb puts, putting or put (mainly tr)

to cause to be (in a position or place)to put a book on the table

to cause to be (in a state, relation, etc)to put one's things in order

(foll by to) to cause (a person) to experience the endurance or suffering (of)to put to death; to put to the sword

to set or commit (to an action, task, or duty), esp by forcehe put him to work

to render, transform, or translateto put into English

to set (words) in a musical form (esp in the phrase put to music)

(foll by at) to estimatehe put the distance at fifty miles

(foll by to) to utilize (for the purpose of)he put his knowledge to good use

(foll by to) to couple a female animal (with a male) for the purpose of breedingthe farmer put his heifer to the bull

to state; expressto put it bluntly

to set or make (an end or limit)he put an end to the proceedings

to present for consideration in anticipation of an answer or vote; proposehe put the question to the committee; I put it to you that one day you will all die

to invest (money) in; give (support) tohe put five thousand pounds into the project

to impartto put zest into a party

to throw or cast

not know where to put oneself to feel awkward or embarrassed

put paid to to destroy irrevocably and utterlythe manager's disfavour put paid to their hopes for promotion

stay put to refuse to leave; keep one's position

noun

a throw or cast, esp in putting the shot

Also called: put option stock exchange an option to sell a stated amount of securities at a specified price during a specified limited periodCompare call (def. 58)

See also put about, put across, put aside, put away, put back, put by, put down, put forth, put forward, put in, put off, put on, put on to, put out, put over, put through, put up, put upon

Word Origin for put

C12 puten to push; related to Old English potian to push, Norwegian, Icelandic pota to poke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with put

put

In addition to the idioms beginning with put

put a bug in someone's ear
put across
put a damper on
put all one's eggs in one basket
put an end to
put an idea in one's head
put a premium on
put aside
put a spin on
put at ease
put at someone's disposal
put away
put back the clock
put behind one
put by
put down
put down roots
put forth
put forward
put hair on one's chest
put heads together
put ideas into someone's head
put in
put in a good word
put in an appearance
put in mind of
put in mothballs
put in one's place
put in one's two cents
put in order
put in the way of
put into effect
put into practice
put into words
put it mildly
put it to
put lead in one's pencil
put money on
put off
put on
put on a brave face
put on a brave front
put on airs
put on an act
put on a pedestal
put one in mind of
put one into the picture
put one off
put one off one's stride
put one out
put one's back into it
put one's back up
put one's best foot forward
put one's cards on the table
put oneself in someone's place
put oneself out
put one's face on
put one's feet up
put one's finger on
put one's foot down
put one's foot in it
put one's hand to
put one's head on the block
put one's house in order
put one's mind to
put one's money where one's mouth is
put one's nose out of joint
put one's oar in
put one's shoulder to the wheel
put on hold
put on ice
put on one's thinking cap
put on the dog
put on the feed bag
put on the map
put on the spot
put on weight
put our heads together
put out
put out feelers
put out of business
put out of one's mind
put out to grass
put over
put paid to
put right
put someone away
put someone down
put someone in his or her place
put someone on
put someone out of his or her misery
put someone right
put someone through his or her paces
put someone up
put someone up to
put someone wise
put that in your pipe and smoke it
put the arm on
put the blame on
put the cart before the horse
put the fear of God into
put the finger on
put the heat on
put their heads together
put the kibosh on
put the lid on
put the make on
put the screws on
put the skids on
put the skids under
put through
put through the wringer
put to bed
put to death
put to flight
put together
put to good use
put to it, be
put to rights
put to sea
put to shame
put to sleep
put to the test
put two and two together
put up
put upon, be
put up or shut up
put up with
put wise
put words in someone's mouth

also see:

(put) at ease
(put on a) brave face
cart before the horse, put
clamp down (put the clamps on)
flesh out (put flesh and bone on)
for (put in one's) two cents
(put on a) hair shirt
hard put
(put) in effect
(put) in the picture
lay (put) one's cards on the table
lay (put) one's hands on
lay (put) the blame on
(put someone's) nose out of joint
not put something past someone
(put) off the track
(put) on a pedestal
(put) out of business
pull (put over) a fast one
put one's head on the block
throw (put) off the scent

Also see underset.