Putnam

American  

[puht-nuhm] / ˈpʌt nəm /

noun

1. Herbert, 1861–1955, U.S. librarian: headed Library of Congress 1899–1939.

2. Israel, 1718–90, American Revolutionary general.

3. Rufus, 1738–1824, American Revolutionary officer: engineer and colonizer in Ohio.

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Putnam British  

/ ˈpʌtnəm /

noun

1. Israel. 1718–90, American general in the War of Independence

2. his cousin Rufus. 1738–1824, American soldier in the War of Independence; surveyor general of the US (1796–1803)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Putnam

On a 1,700-acre industrial site in West Virginia’s Putnam County, Google is working to build a $7 billion data-center campus of up to nine buildings.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Graffiti has been washed from the Frank Putnam Flint fountain, but it remains a broken-down monument to neglect, as it has for most of the past 60 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Mr. Putnam notes that gains in black homeownership, which “improved significantly between 1930 and 1970,” later stalled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Putnam wrote that as regular social engagement and recreation dwindled, so did participation in daily civic life.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

I was walking home that night, paying no attention to where I was going, when a large, sulky fellow approached me near the apple trees in front of Putnam House.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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