put; putting
1
a
: to place in a specified position or relationship : lay
put the book on the table
b
: to move in a specified direction
c(1)
: to send (something, such as a weapon or missile) into or through something : thrust
(2)
: to throw with an overhand pushing motion
put the shot
d
: to bring into a specified state or condition
a reapportionment … that was put into effect at the September primaries—
Current Biography
Current Biography
e
: to prescribe a specified regimen for
—usually used with on
put her on medication
put him on a diet
2
3
a
: to set before one for judgment or decision
put the question
b
: to call for a formal vote on
put the motion
4
5
6
b
: invest entry 1 sense 1
put her money in the company
7
1
: to start in motion : go
especially
: to leave in a hurry
2
of a ship
: to take a specified course
put down the river
1
: a throw made with an overhand pushing motion
specifically
: the act or an instance of putting the shot
2
: an option to sell a specified amount of a security (such as a stock) or commodity (such as wheat) at a fixed price at or within a specified time compare call sense 3d
Phrases
put forth
2
: to bring into action : exert
3
: to produce or send out by growth
put forth leaves
4
: to start out
: propose
put forward a theory
: remind
: identify
put his finger on the cause of the trouble
: to take a firm stand
: to make a tactless or embarrassing blunder
chiefly British
: to finish off : bring an end to
: to ask for money
: to inform on
put the finger on … heroin pushers—Barrie Zwicker
Barrie Zwicker
: to make sexual advances toward
: to make the final preparations for printing (something, such as a newspaper)
Synonyms
Examples of put in a Sentence
Verb
Put the car in the garage.
I put the keys on the table.
He put his arms around her and held her tight.
He fell and accidentally put his hand through a window.
The illness put her in the hospital for three days.
They put her in prison for forgery.
Her parents decided to put her in a special school for deaf children.
If she drove 55 mph for 20 minutes, that would put her about halfway there by now.
Don't forget to put your signature on the check.
He put his phone number on a napkin.
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Recent Examples on the WebAbby Montanez, Robb Report, 11 Sep. 2023
In an age of mass extinction, people are going to enormous lengths to put species back into place.
—Dino Grandoni and Melina Mara, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2023
The intention is to put the issue of the training center on the ballot.
—Jozsef Papp, ajc, 11 Sep. 2023
Montaigne put cruelty first, identifying it as the worst thing people do; Machiavelli did not.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The renewable company Heritage Sustainable Energy first put panels at the site in 2017.
—Izzy Ross, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2023
After the crash, the tow boat operator sounded the alarm and deckhands put a boat into the water to help White and his son, officials said in a news release.
—Tanasia Kenney The Charlotte Observer (tns), al, 11 Sep. 2023
Son Benjamin, 13, stands in front of Jack and wears a matching jacket with his dad as sister Vivian, 10, puts a hand on his shoulder and leans in.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023
The storm’s maximum-sustained winds diminished slightly to 125 miles per hour putting it in the Category 3 range again, which is still considered a major hurricane.
—Jon Kamp, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2023
Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2023
For every $100 in notional — the value an options contract covers — investors now pay only $3.50 for an S&P 500 put option expiring a year from now with a strike price 5% below current levels, data compiled by Bank of America show.
—Elena Popina, Fortune, 30 July 2023
There has been record trading in options this year and activity in put options hit a fever pitch lately.
—WSJ, 18 Aug. 2023
Burry’s fund, Scion Asset Management, bought $866 million in put options (that’s the right to sell an asset at a particular price) against a fund that tracks the S&P 500, and $739 million in put options against a fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 16 Aug. 2023
Among the women, Maggie Ewen (shot put), Brooke Andersen (hammer), Valerie Allman (discus) and Katie Moon (pole vault) and, on the men’s side, Ryan Crouser (shot put) and JuVaughn Harrison (high jump) have posted world-leading marks this season.
—Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2023
The NBCUniversal owner and pay TV, media and technology giant has to decide on the future of its one-third stake in Hulu, while potentially using a put option that would require Disney, which owns the remaining two-thirds, to take over its minority stake.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2023
Taylor Fletcher-Douglass, Yorktown (115-3) Shot put: 1.
—Matthew Glenesk, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2023
Starting in January 2024, Comcast can use a put option to require Disney to take over its stake, while Disney can tell Comcast to sell its stake.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2023
Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2023
Of the ten largest companies in the S&P 500, Nvidia is the only stock for which the price of call options — which are desirable if the stock goes up — is higher than put options, according to data from Nations Indexes.
—Byryan Vlastelica, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2023
Recently, the venture capital arm of L’Oreal put money into a San Diego startup, Debut, that, like Arcaea, is seeking to leverage biotech to create consumer products.
—Scott Kirsner, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2023
Overall deals like the one Lay Lay is under put child stars in positions of greater creative power than ever before, but her path to the top was partially paved by her father’s foresight — something that is potentially more valuable than millions of followers.
—Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 June 2023
Unfortunately there’s not much motiving Gen Z employees to stay put.
—Irina Anghel, Bloomberg.com, 8 Feb. 2023
Indeed, federal data shows that any worker who switches jobs generally gets higher pay increases - an annual increase of about 7.7 percent, as of December - compared to 5.5 percent for employees who stay put.
—Abha Bhattarai and Maggie Penman, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Feb. 2023
Call it another effect of the cooling labor market: Workers are deciding to stay put.
—WSJ, 17 Jan. 2023
Unless you’re ordered to evacuate or need to go somewhere else for health reasons, do your best to stay put.
—Jessica Roy, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2023
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Verb
To put things into perspective, insurance rates across Florida have tripled over the past three years.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 11 Sep. 2023
In an age of mass extinction, people are going to enormous lengths to put species back into place.
—Dino Grandoni and Melina Mara, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2023
The intention is to put the issue of the training center on the ballot.
—Jozsef Papp, ajc, 11 Sep. 2023
Montaigne put cruelty first, identifying it as the worst thing people do; Machiavelli did not.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The renewable company Heritage Sustainable Energy first put panels at the site in 2017.
—Izzy Ross, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2023
After the crash, the tow boat operator sounded the alarm and deckhands put a boat into the water to help White and his son, officials said in a news release.
—Tanasia Kenney The Charlotte Observer (tns), al, 11 Sep. 2023
Son Benjamin, 13, stands in front of Jack and wears a matching jacket with his dad as sister Vivian, 10, puts a hand on his shoulder and leans in.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023
The storm’s maximum-sustained winds diminished slightly to 125 miles per hour putting it in the Category 3 range again, which is still considered a major hurricane.
—Jon Kamp, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2023
Noun
Burry, who predicted the subprime mortgage crisis of the 2000s, bought nearly $890 million in puts against the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the overall stock market.
—Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2023
For every $100 in notional — the value an options contract covers — investors now pay only $3.50 for an S&P 500 put option expiring a year from now with a strike price 5% below current levels, data compiled by Bank of America show.
—Elena Popina, Fortune, 30 July 2023
There has been record trading in options this year and activity in put options hit a fever pitch lately.
—WSJ, 18 Aug. 2023
Burry’s fund, Scion Asset Management, bought $866 million in put options (that’s the right to sell an asset at a particular price) against a fund that tracks the S&P 500, and $739 million in put options against a fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 16 Aug. 2023
Among the women, Maggie Ewen (shot put), Brooke Andersen (hammer), Valerie Allman (discus) and Katie Moon (pole vault) and, on the men’s side, Ryan Crouser (shot put) and JuVaughn Harrison (high jump) have posted world-leading marks this season.
—Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2023
The NBCUniversal owner and pay TV, media and technology giant has to decide on the future of its one-third stake in Hulu, while potentially using a put option that would require Disney, which owns the remaining two-thirds, to take over its minority stake.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2023
Taylor Fletcher-Douglass, Yorktown (115-3) Shot put: 1.
—Matthew Glenesk, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2023
Starting in January 2024, Comcast can use a put option to require Disney to take over its stake, while Disney can tell Comcast to sell its stake.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2023
Adjective
Throw on a thin leather brown or black belt with gold hardware and the ensemble instantly looks more put together.
—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2023
Of the ten largest companies in the S&P 500, Nvidia is the only stock for which the price of call options — which are desirable if the stock goes up — is higher than put options, according to data from Nations Indexes.
—Byryan Vlastelica, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2023
Recently, the venture capital arm of L’Oreal put money into a San Diego startup, Debut, that, like Arcaea, is seeking to leverage biotech to create consumer products.
—Scott Kirsner, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2023
Overall deals like the one Lay Lay is under put child stars in positions of greater creative power than ever before, but her path to the top was partially paved by her father’s foresight — something that is potentially more valuable than millions of followers.
—Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 June 2023
Unfortunately there’s not much motiving Gen Z employees to stay put.
—Irina Anghel, Bloomberg.com, 8 Feb. 2023
Indeed, federal data shows that any worker who switches jobs generally gets higher pay increases - an annual increase of about 7.7 percent, as of December - compared to 5.5 percent for employees who stay put.
—Abha Bhattarai and Maggie Penman, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Feb. 2023
Call it another effect of the cooling labor market: Workers are deciding to stay put.
—WSJ, 17 Jan. 2023
Unless you’re ordered to evacuate or need to go somewhere else for health reasons, do your best to stay put.
—Jessica Roy, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'put.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English putten; akin to Old English putung instigation, Middle Dutch poten to plant
First Known Use
Verb
12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1841, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of put was
in the 12th century
Phrases Containing put
Articles Related to put
Dictionary Entries Near put
Cite this Entry
“Put.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
put
1 of 3 verb
put; putting
1
a
: to place in or move into a position or relationship
put the book down
b
: to throw with an overhand pushing motion
put the shot
c
: to bring into a state or condition
put it to use
put the matter right
put us at risk
2
a
: to cause to undergo something
was put to death
b
: impose sense 1a
put a special tax on luxuries
3
: to set before one for judgment or decision (as by a formal vote)
put the motion
4
: express entry 4 sense 1a
put your feelings into words
5
a
: to devote or urge to an activity or end
put them to work
b
: invest entry 2 sense 1
put our money in the company
6
a
: estimate entry 1 sense 1
put the time at about eleven
b
: attach sense 5
puts a high value on friendship
7
: go entry 1 sense 1, proceed
the ship put to sea
put
2 of 3 noun
: a throw made with an overhand pushing motion
put
3 of 3 adjective
: fixed sense 1a, set
stay put until I come back
Legal Definition
put
noun
: put option at option 3
More from Merriam-Webster on put
Nglish: Translation of put for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of put for Arabic Speakers
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