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
Sadly, the blind donkey was put to sleep — coincidentally on the same day that Larson's blind horse had an eye removed.
—
Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024
But as the landing zone moves into Earth’s shadow, experiencing lunar night, the spacecraft will be put to sleep.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 12 Feb. 2024
In Orion’s story, he’s whisked by the dark out of his home and into an adventure that will involve seeing people seemingly smothered or hit to be put to sleep at night (then given a good-night kiss), sucked into a vortex, and nearly killed more than once.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024
Babies put to sleep in their cribs reach out and grab cords dangling from the window blinds above them.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 20 Dec. 2023
These procedures involve large incisions, so patients are generally put to sleep using general anesthesia.8
The extent of the procedure, and the recovery time needed, depends on the body parts involved.
—Amanda MacMillan, Health, 2 Nov. 2023
With the tattoo taking so long to complete, Prescott was put to sleep.
—Calvin Watkins, Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2023
And babies should only be put to sleep on a firm, flat surface—like a crib or bassinet—without pillows or other products that could suffocate the infant.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 29 Aug. 2023
Characters hunt for dead cats (for spaceship fuel), and a cat is humanely put to sleep.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2023
Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024
But as the landing zone moves into Earth’s shadow, experiencing lunar night, the spacecraft will be put to sleep.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 12 Feb. 2024
In Orion’s story, he’s whisked by the dark out of his home and into an adventure that will involve seeing people seemingly smothered or hit to be put to sleep at night (then given a good-night kiss), sucked into a vortex, and nearly killed more than once.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024
Babies put to sleep in their cribs reach out and grab cords dangling from the window blinds above them.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 20 Dec. 2023
These procedures involve large incisions, so patients are generally put to sleep using general anesthesia.8
The extent of the procedure, and the recovery time needed, depends on the body parts involved.
—Amanda MacMillan, Health, 2 Nov. 2023
With the tattoo taking so long to complete, Prescott was put to sleep.
—Calvin Watkins, Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2023
And babies should only be put to sleep on a firm, flat surface—like a crib or bassinet—without pillows or other products that could suffocate the infant.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 29 Aug. 2023
Characters hunt for dead cats (for spaceship fuel), and a cat is humanely put to sleep.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'put to sleep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near 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 25 Apr. 2024.
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