put a lid on

phrase

1

: to stop (something) from growing or becoming worse

These changes are intended to put a lid on rising medical costs.

2

informal : to stop doing or saying (something)

He angrily told them to put a lid on their complaints.

I'm tired of listening to your complaints, so just put a lid on it!

3

: to cause the end or failure of (something)

The government used the army to put a lid on the rebellion.

Examples of put a lid on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Strong demand from the data center building boom and the electrification of everything is underpinning one side of the copper-price equation while mine incidents and accidents (outages) have put a lid on supply growth. — Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Its star Amy Adams is not in Berlinale but her absence has practically gone unnoticed with the media’s attention rather on whether the festival has tried to put a lid on political discourse outside discussion of the politics in the films. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026

The shocking call from Cisco – at least shocking to this portfolio manager – that the DRAM shortage will hurt their earnings caused that stock to get crushed and put a lid on tech, especially Nvidia. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Feb. 2026

The Seahawks can stay in these coverages all game if they aren’t threatened by the run, and put a lid on the Patriots’ passing game. — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for put a lid on

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• panopticon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon