✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

be put to death

idiom

: to be killed at a scheduled time by someone who is legally allowed to do so
a serial killer who was put to death for the murder of 28 people
The dog that attacked the children was later put to death.

Examples of be put to death in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Greene had called for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be put to death, and suggested California wildfires were started by lasers orbiting the Earth for the benefit of Gov. Gavin Newsom, power companies and a prominent Jewish banking family. Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025 Walls is the 19th person set for execution in Florida in 2025, with two other inmates scheduled to be put to death before the end of the year. CBS News, 19 Nov. 2025 Djerf was the second inmate in Arizona to be put to death this year, according to the the Death Penalty Information Center. Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025 Harold Nichols is scheduled to be put to death in Tennessee on December 11. Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for be put to death

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Be put to death.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/be%20put%20to%20death. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!