# put down

Pronunciation: US/UK say "puut-DOWN" /ˌpʊt ˈdaʊn/; AUS

## Phrasal verb

1. To insult someone, or to make them seem small, foolish or unworthy.
   - Simple: To say unkind things that make someone feel bad about themselves.
   - _A good coach never puts down players in front of the whole team._
   - _Her older brothers used to put her down for wanting to be an artist._
2. A gentle way of saying to kill an animal painlessly, usually to end its suffering; to euthanize.
   - Simple: A kind way to say an animal is killed without pain, usually because it is very sick or hurt.
   - _The horse's broken leg could not be saved, and it had to be put down._
   - _We put our old cat down last spring, when the cancer had spread too far._
4. To stop, crush or stamp out something, especially a rebellion or uprising, often by force.
   - Simple: To stop something such as a rebellion, often by using force.
   - _Troops were sent in to put down the riots within hours._
   - _The king put the revolt down with a cruelty that shocked even his allies._
5. To set down something one is holding, placing it on a surface or the ground.
   - Simple: To stop holding something and place it on a table, the floor, or the ground.
   - _She put down her coffee cup and turned to face him._
   - _Put that knife down before someone gets hurt!_
6. To write something, or set it down in writing.
   - Simple: To write something down.
   - _Before the meeting, she put down a few notes on what she wanted to say._
   - _It took him years to put his memories down on paper._
7. To pay an amount of money as a deposit.
   - Simple: To pay money as a deposit.
   - _They put down $20,000 on the house and borrowed the rest._
   - _Tenants must put down one month's rent as security before moving in._
8. To settle a baby somewhere so that it can sleep.
   - Simple: To lay a baby in a place where it can sleep.
   - _I'll call you back once I've put the baby down for her nap._
   - _Most nights we put him down at seven, and he sleeps until morning._
9. To hang up a telephone and thereby end a call.
   - Simple: To end a phone call by hanging up.
   - _She was so angry that she put the phone down on him in the middle of his apology._
   - _Before I could explain, the receptionist had put down the receiver._
10. To stop reading a book, whether for a while or for good.
   - Simple: To stop reading a book, for a short time or for good.
   - _Once you start the mystery, you won't want to put it down until the last page._
   - _She put down the biography halfway through and never went back to it._
11. To drop off a passenger, stopping a vehicle to let them get out.
   - Simple: To let someone get out of a car, bus or other vehicle at a place.
   - _The cab put her down at the station with ten minutes to spare._
   - _Drivers may only put down passengers at the marked stops._
12. Of an aircraft or its pilot, to come down and land.
   - Simple: Of a plane, to come down to the ground and land.
   - _Low on fuel, the helicopter put down on a sandbar in the river._
   - _The crew was told to put down at the nearest airport._
13. To add a name, one's own or someone else's, to a list, such as a sign-up sheet.
   - Simple: To write someone's name on a list.
   - _Twenty volunteers have already put themselves down for the beach cleanup._
   - _Shall I put you down for the early shift?_
14. To give one thing as the reason for another, in the pattern put something down to a cause.
   - Simple: To say that one thing is the reason for another.
   - _Doctors put the rise in cases down to the long, cold winter._
   - _I'd put most of her success down to sheer hard work._
15. A euphemistic way of saying to execute someone, especially without any legal process.
   - Simple: A gentler way of saying to kill a person on purpose, often without a court's decision.
   - _The commander's orders were to put down anyone found inside the compound._
   - _Rather than stand trial, the traitors were marched behind the barracks and put down._
16. To lower prices or taxes, or the price of something on sale. *(Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: To make prices or taxes go down.
   - _Supermarkets have put milk down by five pence a pint._
   - _The Chancellor is expected to put fuel duty down in the autumn budget._
17. To drink something down. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To drink something.
   - _We put down a couple of pitchers at the bar after the game._
   - _That guy can put down a six-pack without slowing down._

## Noun · put-down

Pronunciation: say "PUUT-down" /ˈpʊt daʊn/

3. An insult or barb: a snide or demeaning remark aimed at someone.
   - Simple: Something unkind said to make a person feel stupid or small.
   - _Calling his proposal "cute" was a put-down, and everyone at the table knew it._
   - _The comedian is known for quick put-downs aimed at hecklers._

## Phrasal verb

18. In printing, to set type in lowercase, or to change type from capital to lowercase letters. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old printing, to change letters from capitals to small letters.
   - _The editor's mark told the compositor to put down the line he had set in capitals._
   - _House style required the printers to put down common nouns that the author had capitalized._

## Origin

A deverbal formation from the verb put down.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/put-down (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).