put to sleep
idiom
1
: to give (a sick or injured animal) drugs that will make it die without pain
2
informal
: to use a drug to make (someone) unconscious before a medical operation : to give (someone) anesthesia before a medical operation
3
: to get (someone) ready to sleep for the night
Did you put the kids to sleep?
4
: to make (someone) fall asleep from boredom
Her lectures used to put me to sleep.
Examples of put to sleep in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After that incident, the department changed its approach and shot the remaining three adults with tranquilizer darts rather than a firearm, then euthanized them on the ground with injections of the type a sick animal might receive when being put to sleep by a veterinarian.
—
Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025
The moment Cheyanne returned home from the vet's after Sunny was put to sleep was captured by her Blink door camera.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2025
There are also beautifully observed moments toward the end with Dorotea and Riccardo; and a moving reckoning with death when Mariano’s favorite horse, a stallion named Elvis, is felled by illness and the president refuses to end his suffering by having the animal put to sleep.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
There’s also some potential danger for the baby in getting put to sleep for a C-section.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for put to sleep
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.
Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025
The moment Cheyanne returned home from the vet's after Sunny was put to sleep was captured by her Blink door camera.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2025
There are also beautifully observed moments toward the end with Dorotea and Riccardo; and a moving reckoning with death when Mariano’s favorite horse, a stallion named Elvis, is felled by illness and the president refuses to end his suffering by having the animal put to sleep.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
There’s also some potential danger for the baby in getting put to sleep for a C-section.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for put to sleep
Cite this Entry
“Put to sleep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20to%20sleep. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share