put down
Verb

put down

  1. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see put, down
    Why don't you put down your briefcase and stay awhile?
    • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1
      "There he is!" cried Mrs. Flanders, coming round the rock and covering the whole space of the beach in a few seconds. "What has he got hold of? Put it down, Jacob! Drop it this moment!
  2. (idiomatic) To insult, belittle, or demean.
    Antonyms: compliment, talk up
    They frequently put down their little sister for walking slowly.
    • 1965, The Who, My Generation
      People try to put us down / Just because we get around.
  3. (of money as deposit) To pay.
    We put down a $1,000 deposit.
  4. To halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.
    Synonyms: end, stop, eliminate, extinguish
    The government quickly put down the insurrection.
    • 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games[http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]
      For the 75 years since a district rebellion was put down, The Games have existed as an assertion of the Capital’s power, a winner-take-all contest that touts heroism and sacrifice—participants are called “tributes”— while pitting the districts against each other.
  5. (euphemistic) To euthanize (an animal).
    Synonyms: put to sleep, euthanize
    Rex was in so much pain, they had to put him down.
  6. To write (something).
    Put down the first thing you think of on this piece of paper.
  7. (of a telephone) To terminate a call; to hang up.
    Antonyms: pick up
    Synonyms: hang up
    Don't put the phone down. I want a quick word with him, too.
  8. To add a name to a list.
    I've put myself down for the new Spanish conversation course.
  9. To make prices, or taxes, lower.
    BP are putting petrol and diesel down in what could be the start of a price war.
  10. (idiomatic) To place a baby somewhere to sleep.
    I had just put Mary down when you rang. So now she's crying again.
  11. (idiomatic, of an aircraft) To land.
    The pilot managed to put down in a nearby farm field.
  12. (idiomatic) To drop someone off, or let them out of a vehicle.
    Antonyms: pick up
    The taxi put him down outside the hotel.
  13. (idiomatic) To cease, temporarily or permanently, reading (a book).
    I was unable to put down The Stand: it was that exciting.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations
  • French: déposer
  • Spanish: pagar un depósito
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

put down (plural put downs)

  1. Alternative spelling of put-down



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