Meaning of put In English

• 0 to move something or someone into the stated place, position, or direction:

  • Where have you put the keys?

  • Put your clothes in the cupboard.

  • He put salt into the sugar bowl by mistake.

  • She put her bag on the table.

  • She put her hands over her eyes.

  • I put my arm around him to comfort him.

  • We always put the cat out (= outside the house) at night.

  • Every night, she puts out her clothes (= takes them from where they are kept so that they are ready) for the next day.

  • If we put the chairs a little closer together (= move them nearer to each other), we should be able to get another one around the table.

  • If you put together (= mix) yellow and blue paint you get green.

  • The prisoners were put up against (= moved into a position next to) a wall and shot.

• 1 to write something:

  • She puts her name in all her books.

  • Put an X next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for.

  • I've put the date of the party down in my diary.

  • He asked me to put my objections (down) on paper.

  • It was an interesting article but I wish they'd put in more information (= included more information) about the costs.

• 2 to express something in words:

  • She wanted to tell him that she didn't want to see him any more, but she didn't know how to put it.

  • We're going to have to work very hard, but as Chris so succinctly put it, there's no gain without pain.

  • Why do you always have to put things so crudely?

  • Has everyone had a chance to put their point of view?

  • The agent has put a price of £720,000 on our house.

  • You can't put a value on friendship (= say what it is worth).

  • To put it bluntly, you're going to have to improve.

  • He was annoyed, to put it mildly (= he was very annoyed).

• 3 to cause someone or something to be in the stated condition or situation:

  • Are you prepared to put your children at risk?

  • This puts me in a very difficult position.

  • What has put you in such a bad mood?

  • This election is a chance for the country to put a new government in (= elect a new government).

  • It's broken into so many pieces, it'll be impossible to put it back together again (= repair it).

  • Let's give her the chance to put her ideas into practice.

  • The terrorists were put on trial (= their case was judged in a court of law) six years after the bombing.

  • Wilson was put out (of the competition) (= was defeated) by Clarke in the second round.

  • [ + adj ] How much did it cost to have the television put right (= repaired)?

  • I originally thought he was Australian, but he soon put me straight (= corrected me) and explained he was from New Zealand.

  • I know she's gone forever, but I just can't put her out of my mind/head (= forget her).

  • He's putting me under pressure to change my mind.

• 4 to bring into operation; to cause to be used:

  • When the drugs failed to cure her, she put her faith/trust in herbal medicine.

  • The school puts a lot of emphasis on teaching children to read and write.

  • He's putting pressure on me to change my mind.

  • The events of the last few weeks have put a real strain on him.

  • In the story of Sleeping Beauty, the wicked fairy puts a spell/curse ( US hex) on the baby princess.

  • You know it was your fault, so don't try to put the blame on anyone else.

  • The government is expected to put a new tax on cars.

  • The new tax will put 15 percent on fuel prices (= increase them by 15 percent).

  • She's never put a bet/money on a race before.

  • He put everything he had into (= he used all his abilities and strength in) the final game.

  • The more you put into something, the more you get out of it (= the harder you work at something, the more satisfying it is).

  • They put (= invested) a lot of money into the family business.

  • The president is trying to put through (= bring into operation) reforms of the country's economic system.

  • They've got to put an end to/a stop to their fighting (= to stop fighting).

• 5 to judge something or someone in comparison with other similar things or people:

  • I'd put him among the top six tennis players of all time.

  • Drama critics have put her on a level/par with the great Shakespearean actresses.

  • He always puts the needs of his family first/last (= they are the most/least important thing to him).

• 6 to travel in a boat or ship across the sea:

  • Our mast broke, so we had to put about (= turn round) and return to port.

  • The ship put in at (= stopped at) Cape Town for fresh supplies.

  • We put to sea (= began our journey by sea) at dawn.

• 7 to move something or someone into the stated place, position, or direction:

  • She put her arm around him.

  • Put your clothes in the closet.

  • When you set the table, put the soup spoons next to the knives.

  • She put her coffee cup on the table.

  • The movie was so scary that she put her hands over her eyes.

  • I’ll call back after I put the kids to bed.

• 8 to write down or record:

  • Put your name on the list if you want to go.

  • Put an answer in the space provided.

• 9 to express something in words:

  • She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want to see him any more, but she didn’t know how to put it.

  • He has difficulty putting his feelings into words.

  • To put it bluntly, Pete, you’re just no good at the job.

  • Dad was annoyed, to put it mildly.

• 10 to cause something to be in the stated condition or situation:

  • Are you prepared to put your children at risk?

  • This puts me in a very difficult position.

  • What put you in such a bad mood?

• 11 to judge something or someone in comparison with other similar things or people:

  • I’d put him among the top six tennis players of all time.

  • The value of the painting has been put at $1.5 million.

  • He always puts his family first.

• 12 to move something into a particular place:

  • Can you put the file on my desk when you've finished with it, please?

  • We put the money in the safe at the end of each day.

• 13 to write down or record information:

  • Put your full name at the top of the form.

  • It's a good report, but you haven't put in anything about the costs.

  • You can save a lot of time and effort by putting your accounts on a computer.

• 14 to express something in words:

  • I hate these designs, but I don't know how to put it in a tactful way.

  • We're going to have to work very hard, but as Chris so succinctly put it, there's no gain without pain.

• 15 to cause someone or something to be in a particular condition or situation:

  • put sb in a difficult/awkward/embarrassing, etc. position This puts me in a very difficult position.

  • put sth into effect/practice Let's give her the chance to put her ideas into practice.

  • I don't know what the problem is, but we have two days to put it right.

  • put sb under pressure/strain/stress He put me under pressure to change my mind.

  • put sb out of business/work/a job Unemployment benefits for those put out of work have been extended for six months.

• 16 to officially begin using something:

  • The government is expected to put a new tax on cars.

  • The government put through a law requiring equal access to buildings for disabled people.

• 17 to judge something or someone in comparison with other similar things or people:

  • put sb/sth among sb/sth His four-year deal put him among the country's highest earners.

  • put sb/sth first/tenth/50th, etc. Washington's quarterly rate of one foreclosure for every 436 households put it 21st among states.

• 18 to say what you think the price or value of something is:

  • They've put a price of €2 million on the factory.

• 19 to express something in a particular way:

  • To put it bluntly, you're going to have to improve.

• 20 →  put option