verb put put,
put·ting,
puts verb, transitive- To place in a specified location; set: She put the books on the table.
- To cause to be in a specified condition: His gracious manners put me at ease.
- To cause (one) to undergo something; subject: The interrogators put the prisoner to torture.
- To assign; attribute: They put a false interpretation on events.
- To estimate: We put the time at five o'clock.
- To impose or levy: The governor has put a tax on cigarettes.
- Games To wager (a stake); bet: put $50 on a horse.
- Sports To hurl with an overhand pushing motion: put the shot.
- To bring up for consideration or judgment: put a question to the judge.
- To express; state: I put my objections bluntly.
- To render in a specified language or literary form: put prose into verse.
- To adapt: The lyrics had been put to music.
- To urge or force to an action: a mob that put the thief to flight.
- To apply: We must put our minds to it.
- To force the purchase of (a stock or commodity) by exercising a put option.
verb, intransitive- To begin to move, especially in a hurry.
- Nautical To proceed: The ship put into the harbor.
noun- Sports An act of putting the shot.
- An option to sell a stipulated amount of stock or securities within a specified time and at a fixed price.
adjective Informal Fixed; stationary: stay put.
Phrasal Verbs: put about Nautical To change or cause to change direction; go or cause to go from one tack to another.
put across To state so as to be understood clearly or accepted readily:
put her views across during the hearing. To attain or carry through by deceit or trickery.
put away To renounce; discard:
put all negative thoughts away. Informal To consume (food or drink) readily and quickly:
put away the dinner in just a few minutes. Informal To confine to a mental health facility.
a. Informal To kill: The injured cat was put away.
b. To bury.
put by To save for later use:
“Some crops were so abundant they could even be put by” (Carole Lalli). put downa. To write down.
b. To enter in a list.
a. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
b. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
To subject (an animal) to euthanasia.
Slang a. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
b. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
c. To humiliate: “Many status games seem designed to put down others” (Alvin F. Poussaint).
a. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
b. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
To consume (food or drink) readily; put away:
puts down three big meals a day. put forth To grow:
Plants put forth new growth in the spring. To bring to bear; exert:
At least put forth a semblance of effort when you scrub the floor. To offer for consideration:
put forth an idea. put forward To propose for consideration:
put forward a new plan. put in To make a formal offer of:
put in a plea of guilty. To introduce, as in conversation; interpose:
He put in a good word for me. To spend (time) at a location or job:
I put in eight hours at the office. To plant:
We put in 20 rows of pine trees. To apply:
put in for early retirement. Nautical To enter a port or harbor:
The freighter puts in at noon. put offa. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
b. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
To take off; discard:
put off a sweater. To repel or repulse, as from bad manners:
His indifferent attitude has put us off. To pass (money) or sell (merchandise) fraudulently.
put on To clothe oneself with; don:
put on a coat; put socks on. To apply; activate:
put on the brakes. To assume affectedly:
put on an English accent. Slang To tease or mislead (another):
You're putting me on! To add:
put on weight. To produce; perform:
put on a variety show. put out To extinguish:
put out a fire. Nautical To leave, as a port or harbor; depart. To expel:
put out a drunk. To publish:
put out a weekly newsletter.a. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
b. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
To make an effort.
Baseball To retire a runner.
Vulgar Slang To be sexually active. Used of a woman.
put over To postpone; delay. To put across, especially to deceive:
tried to put a lie over, but to no avail. put through To bring to a successful end:
put the project through on time; put through a number of new laws. To cause to undergo:
He put me through a lot of trouble.a. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
b. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
put to Nautical To head for shore.
put together To construct; create:
put together a new bookcase; put together a tax package. put up To erect; build. To preserve; can:
put up six jars of jam. To nominate:
put up a candidate at a convention. To provide (funds) in advance:
put up money for the new musical. To provide lodgings for:
put a friend up for the night. Sports To startle (game animals) from cover:
put up grouse. To offer for sale:
put up his antiques.a. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
b. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
put upon To impose on; overburden:
He was always being put upon by his friends.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English putten
Origin: , back-formation from Old English *pūtte
Origin: , past tense of pȳtan, to put out
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