Put Verb - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation And Usage Notes

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Definition of put verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

put verb   /pʊt/  /pʊt/Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they put	/pʊt/  /pʊt/
he / she / it puts	/pʊts/  /pʊts/
past simple put	/pʊt/  /pʊt/
past participle put	/pʊt/  /pʊt/
-ing form putting	/ˈpʊtɪŋ/  /ˈpʊtɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs jump to other results

in place/position

1.   put something + adv./prep. to move something into a particular place or position
   • Put the cases down there, please.
   • Did you put sugar in my coffee?
   • Put your hand up if you need more paper.

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2. put something + adv./prep. to move something into a particular place or position using force
   • He put his fist through a glass door.
3.   put somebody/something + adv./prep. to cause somebody/something to go to a particular place
   • Her family put her into a nursing home.
   • It was the year the Americans put a man on the moon.

attach

4.   put something + adv./prep. to attach or fix something to something else
   • We had to put new locks on all the doors.
   Extra Examples
   • We're not allowed to put posters on the walls.
   • Can you help me put the roof rack on the car?

write

5.   put something (+ adv./prep.) to write something or make a mark on something
   • Put your name here.
   • Friday at 11? I'll put it in my diary.
   • I couldn't read what she had put.

into state/condition

6.   put somebody/something + adv./prep. to bring somebody/something into the state or condition mentioned
   • I was put in charge of the office.
   • The incident put her in a bad mood.
   • Put yourself in my position. What would you have done?
   • I tried to put the matter into perspective.
   • Don't go putting yourself at risk.
   • I am determined to put things right.
   • It was time to put their suggestion into practice.
   • This new injury will put him out of action for several weeks.
   • He put Ray on guard with a gun.

affect somebody/something

7.   put something on/onto/to something to make somebody/something feel something or be affected by something
   • Her new job has put a great strain on her.
   • They put pressure on her to resign.
   • It's time you put a stop to this childish behaviour.

express

8.   put something + adv./prep. to express or state something in a particular way
   • She put it very tactfully.
   • Put simply, we accept their offer or go bankrupt.
   • Simply put, the film is a masterpiece.
   • I was, to put it mildly, annoyed (= I was extremely angry).
   • Putting it bluntly, the project was a disaster.
   • He was too trusting—or, to put it another way, he had no head for business.
   • The meat was—how shall I put it?—a little overdone.
   • As T.S. Eliot puts it…
   • She had never tried to put this feeling into words.
   • Can you help me put this letter into good English, please?
   • I thought you put your points very well.
   Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
   • cleverly
   • eloquently
   • well
   • …
   phrases
   • to put it another way
   See full entry

give value/rank

9. put something on something to give or attach a particular level of importance, trust, value, etc. to something
   • Our company puts the emphasis on quality.
   • He put a limit on the amount we could spend.
10. put somebody/something + adv./prep. to consider somebody/something to belong to the class or level mentioned
    • I'd put her in the top rank of modern novelists.

in sport

11. put something to throw the shot
Word OriginOld English (recorded only in the verbal noun putung), of unknown origin; compare with dialect pote ‘to push, thrust’ (an early sense of the verb put).

Idioms Most idioms containing put are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example put your foot in it is at foot.  I wouldn’t put it past somebody (to do something)

1. (informal) used to say that you think somebody is capable of doing something wrong, illegal, etc.

put it about

1. (British English, informal) to have many sexual partners

put it to somebody that…

1. to suggest something to somebody to see if they can argue against it
   • I put it to you that you are the only person who had a motive for the crime.
   Topics Opinion and argumentc2, Suggestions and advicec2

put one over on somebody

1. (informal) to persuade somebody to believe something that is not true
   • Don't try to put one over on me!

put somebody through it

1. (especially British English, informal) to force somebody to experience something difficult or unpleasant
   • They really put me through it (= asked me difficult questions) at the interview.

put together

1. used when comparing or contrasting somebody/something with a group of other people or things to mean ‘combined’ or ‘in total’
   • Your department spent more last year than all the others put together.

put up or shut up

1. (especially British English) used to tell somebody to stop just talking about something and actually do it, show it, etc.

Phrasal Verbs

• put about
• put above
• put across
• put aside
• put at
• put away
• put back
• put before
• put behind you
• put by
• put down
• put down as
• put down for
• put down to
• put forth
• put forward
• put in
• put in for
• put into
• put off
• put on
• put onto
• put out
• put over
• put through
• put to
• put together
• put towards
• put up
• put up for
• put up to
• put up with
• put yourself out
• put yourself up for

See put in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee put in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishCheck pronunciation: put

Other results

All matches

• put at
• put by
• put in
• put-in noun
• put on
• put-on noun
• put to
• put up
• put away
• put back
• put down
• put-down noun
• put into
• put off
• put onto
• put out
• put over
• put-upon adjective
• shot-put noun
• put about

See more Phrasal verbs

• put down
• put out (to…)
• put up (at…)
• put somebody on
• put somebody out
• put out (from…)
• put up something
• put somebody away
• put something by
• put somebody down
• put somebody in
• put somebody off
• put something off
• put something on
• put somebody up
• put something up
• put something about
• put something away
• put something back
• put something down

See more Idioms

• stay put
• put out feelers
• put down roots
• put your face on
• put your feet up
• put your foot down
• put a foot wrong
• to put it mildly
• put pen to paper
• put (out) to sea
• put a sock in it
• put on a brave face
• put somebody to death
• put somebody to flight
• put paid to something
• put somebody to rout
• put somebody to sleep
• put something to sleep
• put stock in something
• put years on somebody

See more

Nearby words

• pussy willow noun
• pustule noun
• put verb
• put about phrasal verb
• put above phrasal verb

exceed verb From the Word list Oxford 5000 B2 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day