put to the test

put to the test idiom
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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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