v.
1 place, position, situate, set, lay, station, stand, deposit, rest, settle; locate:
Please put all books where they belong.
2 assign, commit, cause, set, consign, subject:
I joined the army to fight for my country, and they put me to work peeling potatoes
3 subject, cause to experience or undergo or suffer, consign, send:
He was put to death for his beliefs, not his actions.
4 express, word, phrase; say, utter, write:
How did they put it? - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...' To put it to you straight, shape up or ship out! Can you put that into French?
5 offer, advance, bring forward, present, propose, submit, tender, set before:
I put it to you that you have been lying to the court and that you did leave your house that night
6 bet, gamble, wager, stake, play, chance, risk, hazard:
I put two pounds on the horse to win.
7 throw, heave, toss, fling, cast, pitch, bowl, lob, send, shy, shoot, snap, catapult:
How far did you say you can put a 10-pound shot?
8 place, assign, attribute, lay, pin, attach, fix:
They try to put the blame on me for everything that goes wrong around here
9 put about. broadcast, publish, make known, publicize, announce, spread about or around:
They have been putting about some story linking the two of us romantically
10 put across or over. make clear, get across, make (something or oneself) understood or understandable, explain, spell out, convey, communicate:
She is quite adept at putting across her ideas.
11 put aside. set or lay aside, ignore, disregard, pay no heed to, push aside, shrug off:
They put aside their differences and discovered they had much in common. Isn't it time you put aside childish things?
12 put aside or by or away. lay aside or by, set aside; save, store, stow or store or salt or squirrel away, lay away, cache, bank:
You ought to put a little money aside for a rainy day.
13 put away.
(a) See 12, above.
(b) jail or Brit also gaol, imprison, incarcerate, Colloq send, jug, confine, commit, institutionalize, remand, Brit send down, US send up:
She wants rapists and child molesters put away for a long, long time.
(c) See 16 (d), below.
(d) consume, gorge, gormandize or US also gourmandize:
It is unbelievable how much that man can put away at one sitting.
14 put back. return, replace, restore:
He insists that he put back all the money he took. Put the pictures back where they belong
15 put by. See 12, above.
16 put down. a record, register, write down, set down, enter, list; log, note (down), jot down, make a note or notation of:
You may put me down for a contribution of $5. Please put down your name and address in the box provided.
(b) depose, put an end to, topple, crush, overthrow, subdue, suppress, check, quash, quell:
The loyalists put down the rebellion in short order.
(c) ascribe, assign, attribute:
The doctor put my feelings of fatigue and listlessness down to anaemia.
(d) kill, exterminate, destroy, put to death, put to sleep, put away, do away with:
We had to have our cat put down, which was very upsetting for us all.
(e) abash, humiliate, crush, silence, mortify, lower, take down (a peg or a notch), shame, snub, deflate, slight, reject, dismiss:
Waiters have a way of putting people down if they behave presumptuously.
(f) take for, reckon, account, count, categorize, regard:
Don't put Martin down as a dunce just because he acts the fool now and then.
(g) belittle, diminish, disparage, deprecate, depreciate, criticize, disdain, look down on, despise, contemn:
They deny being prejudiced, but they put down everyone who isn't exactly like them
17 put forth.
(a) propose, offer, set forth, advance:
Several theories have been put forth on the function of mitochondrial DNA.
(b) grow, produce, send out or forth, bud, flower:
When the plant puts forth suckers, they must be pinched back.
(c) begin, set out, set forth, start:
We put forth on our voyage with great enthusiasm.
(d) promulgate, issue, publish, make known, make public:
The committee have not put forth any suggestions for improving traffic flow
18 put forward.
(a) propose, present, tender, nominate, name; recommend:
Your name has been put forward as chair for next year's committee.
(b) suggest, offer, propose, set forth, put forth, present, submit, tender, proffer, introduce, advance, propound, air, make known, announce:
No new solutions to the problem were put forward.
19 put in.
(a) insert, introduce:
Why did you put in a reference to your mother?
(b) spend, devote:
During the holiday season I plan to put in a lot of time to reading.
(c) make:
So, you finally decided to put in an appearance.
20 put in for.
(a) apply for, request, ask for, petition for:
He has put in for a transfer twice and has been refused both times.
(b) seek, apply for, pursue, file:
Do you really think that Jamieson will put in for re-election?
21 put off.
(a) postpone, delay, defer, put back, stay, hold off, shelve, put or set aside, Chiefly US put over, table:
Consideration of your request has been put off till tomorrow.
(b) dismiss, get rid of, send away, turn away; discourage, Colloq give (someone) the brush-off, US brush off:
The manager put me off when I went in to ask about a salary increase.
(c) dismay, disconcert, upset, confuse, disturb, perturb, abash, distress, Colloq throw, rattle:
Curiously, Michael didn't seem a bit put off to learn about the murder.
(d) repel, disgust, sicken, revolt, nauseate:
That television programme on open-heart surgery really put me off.
(e) leave, depart, go (off), set off:
We put off tomorrow morning for Rockall.
22 put on.
(a) don, clothe or attire or dress (oneself) in, get dressed in, change or slip into:
We put on our best clothes to come to your party.
(b) assume, take on, pretend, affect, feign, bluff, make a show of:
She puts on an air of indifference, but she really does care.
(c) add, gain:
Bill put on quite a bit of weight when he stopped smoking.
(d) stage, mount, produce, present, perform:
Our local repertory group is putting on Hedda Gabler this weekend.
(e) tease, mock, Colloq kid, pull (someone's) leg, rib, rag, Brit have on:
When he told you that all holidays had been cancelled he was only putting you on
23 put out.
(a) inconvenience, discommode, disturb, embarrass, trouble, bother, impose upon or on, Colloq put on the spot:
Her arriving an hour early didn't put me out one bit.
(b) annoy, vex, irritate, anger, exasperate, irk, perturb, provoke, Slang bug:
Donald was very much put out to discover that the appointment had gone to someone else.
(c) snuff out, extinguish, blow out, douse, quench, smother:
We put out the fire on the stove before it could spread.
(d) exert, put forth, expend, use, exercise:
We put out considerable effort moving the furniture before she decided she liked it the way it had been.
(e) publish, issue, broadcast, make public, circulate, spread, make known, release:
The information office put out the news that the summit meeting had been a great success
24 put out of (one's) misery. release, relieve, free, deliver, rescue, save, spare:
Just tell him what they said and put him out of his misery.
25 put over.
(a) put or get across, convey, communicate, set or put forth, relate:
I am trying to put the point over to you that I cannot leave now.
(b) See 21 (a), above.
26 put (one or something) over on (someone). fool (someone), pull (someone's) leg, deceive (someone), mislead (someone), pull the wool over (someone's) eyes, trick (someone), hoodwink (someone):
She really put one over on me when she said she loved me. I think that Manfred is trying to put something over on you
27 put through.
(a) carry out or through, execute, (put into) effect, bring off, accomplish, complete, finish, conclude, Colloq pull off:
If they succeed in putting through their plan, the company will be bankrupt.
(b) process, handle, organize, see to, follow up on:
I will personally see that your application is put through the proper channels.
(c) connect, hook up:
I asked the operator to put me through to the chairman himself.
28 put up.
(a) erect, build, construct, raise, set up, put together, fabricate:
They demolished a row of Georgian houses and put up some ugly County offices in their place.
(b) accommodate, lodge, board, house, take in, quarter, Chiefly military billet:
As our house is small, we were able to put up only three people.
(c) preserve, can; cure, pickle:
There are many foods that can be put up for later consumption.
(d) contribute, pledge, offer (as collateral), stake, mortgage, post:
We put up the house as security for the loan.
(e) contribute, give, supply, donate, ante (up), advance, pay, invest:
We put up all our savings to secure our retirement pension.
(f) increase, raise, boost, elevate:
As soon as there is a hint of an oil shortage, they put up the price of petrol.
(g) See 18 (a), above.
(h) offer, tender, put or place on the market:
They put their house up for sale and are planning to move to the Riviera
29 put up to. incite, urge, goad, spur, egg on, encourage, prompt, instigate:
Was it you who put Reggie up to playing that prank on the teacher?
30 put up with. tolerate, abide, take, brook, stand (for), stomach, accept, resign oneself to, bear, endure, swallow:
Why do you put up with his outrageous behaviour?