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put down

verb

Meaning

  • To insult, belittle, or demean.

    "They frequently put down their little sister for walking slowly."

  • (of money as deposit) To pay.

    "We put down a $1,000 deposit."

  • To halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.

    "The government quickly put down the insurrection."

  • To euthanize (an animal).

    "Rex was in so much pain, they had to put him down."

  • To write (something).

    "Put down the first thing you think of on this piece of paper."

  • (of a telephone) To terminate a call; to hang up.

    "Don't put the phone down. I want a quick word with him, too."

  • To add a name to a list.

    "I've put myself down for the new Spanish conversation course."

  • To make prices, or taxes, lower.

    "BP are putting petrol and diesel down in what could be the start of a price war."

  • To place a baby somewhere to sleep.

    "I had just put Mary down when you rang. So now she's crying again."

  • (of an aircraft) To land.

    "The pilot managed to put down in a nearby farm field."

  • To drop someone off, or let them out of a vehicle.

    "The taxi put him down outside the hotel."

  • To cease, temporarily or permanently, reading (a book).

    "I was unable to put down The Stand: it was that exciting."

Synonyms

register,
touch down,
eliminate,
end,
extinguish,
stop,
euthanize,
put to sleep,
hang up

noun

Meaning

  • An insult or barb; a snide or demeaning remark.

    "When he called you a know-it-all, he meant it as a put-down."

Synonyms

burn