put on

verb

put on; putting on; puts on

transitive verb

1

a

: to dress oneself in : don

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: feign

put a saintly manner on

2

: to cause to act or operate : apply

put on more speed

3

a

: add

put on weight

b

: exaggerate, overstate

4

: perform, produce

put on a play

5

a

: to mislead deliberately especially for amusement

The interviewer … must be put down—or possibly, put on.

—Melvin Maddocks

b

: kid entry 3 sense 1

you're putting me on

Synonyms of put on

• throw (on)
• don
• slip (on or into)
• rig

Examples of put on in a Sentence

I put on a coat and shoes to go outside.

some critics are putting it on when they say it's the best comedy ever made

Recent Examples on the Web

An employee didn’t put on gloves before cutting chicken, some tuna salad wasn’t dated and a chemical spray bottle needed a label. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026

May did say that any notion of establishing women’s hockey junior leagues in North America will likely be put on hold as a result of the new rule, which means most college athletes will age out by 23. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026

It was put on the TT social media and got hundreds of thousands of views. —Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 29 May 2026

The measure, put on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors, asks voters to support a half-cent sales tax increase to help stave off the effects of federal cuts affecting county healthcare facilities, including the risk of some clinics and even hospitals closing. —Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for put on

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon

Kids Definition

put-on

1 of 2 noun

ˈpu̇t-ˌȯn, 

-ˌän

1

: a false appearance or presentation

my bravery was all a put-on

2

: a joke in which someone is fooled

put on

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)pu̇t-ˈȯn, 

-ˈän

1

a

: to dress oneself in

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: pretend entry 1 sense 1

put on a show of anger

2

: exaggerate, overstate

they're putting it on when they make such claims

3

: perform sense 3b, produce

put on an entertaining act

4

: kid entry 2 sense 1, fool

you're putting me on

put-on adjective