to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position: to put a book on the shelf.
to bring into some relation, state, etc.: to put everything in order.
to place in the charge or power of a person, institution, etc.: to put a child in foster care.
to subject to the endurance or suffering of something: to put convicted spies 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: to put an 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: to put a poem 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: to put two dollars on a horse.
to express or state: To put it mildly, I don't understand.
to apply, as to a use or purpose: to put one's knowledge to practical use.
to set, give, or make: to put an end to an ancient custom.
to propose or submit for answer, consideration, deliberation, etc.: to put a question before a committee.
to impose, as a burden, charge, or the like: to put a tax on luxury articles.
to invest (often followed by in or into): to put one's money in real estate; to put one's savings into securities.
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: to put the shot.
verb (used without object),put,put·ting.
to go, move, or proceed: to put to sea.
Informal. to begin to travel: to put for home.
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 option.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: a team leader who 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; advance: I hesitated to put forward my plan.
to nominate, promote, or support, as for a position: We put him forward for treasurer.
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 girl 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.
Idioms for 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”
SYNONYMS FOR put
16 levy, inflict.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR put ON THESAURUS.COM
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
pustulation, pustule, pustulosis, pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, 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
To put it rather uncharitably, the USPHS practiced a major dental experiment on a city full of unconsenting subjects.
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Kennedy: "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind."
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Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
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When I put their allegations to Epstein, he denied them and went into overdrive.
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We did ThunderAnt stuff for ourselves and just put it online, and then it blossomed into something else.
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The statesman felt it; it put new vigor into the despatches he wrote and the measures he devised with regard to the slave-trade.
The Personal Life Of David Livingstone|William Garden Blaikie
"Put the responsibility on the donkeys," I finally suggested.
On a Donkey's Hurricane Deck|R. Pitcher Woodward
"We are put behind the archery now," said David Griffith to his Welshmen.
With the Black Prince|William Osborn Stoddard
A quarrel followed, in which Comte was so violent that Saint-Simon had to put the youth out of his house.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8|Elbert Hubbard
I thought the words so put together would please him, and I like to please him, he is good.
Charles Auchester, Volume 1 of 2|Elizabeth Sheppard
British Dictionary definitions for put
put
/ (pʊt) /
verbputs, puttingorput(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 oneselfto feel awkward or embarrassed
put paid toto destroy irrevocably and utterlythe manager's disfavour put paid to their hopes for promotion
stay putto refuse to leave; keep one's position
noun
a throw or cast, esp in putting the shot
Also called: put optionstock exchangean 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