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put down

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put someone down (for something)

to put someone's name on a list of people who volunteer to do something or give an amount of money. Can I put you down for ten dollars? We're having a picnic, and you're invited. Everyone is bringing something. Can I put you down for potato salad?

See also: down, put

put someone or something down

 

1. Go to set someone or something down.

2. Fig. to belittle or degrade someone or something. It's an old car, but that's no reason to put it down. You put down everything you don't understand!

See also: down, put

put something down

 

1. Fig. to repress or put a stop to something such as a riot or rebellion. The army was called to put down the rebellion. The police used tear gas to put the riot down.

2. Go to set something down.

See also: down, put

put something down

also put down something

1. to make a payment that is only part of the full cost When we bought our first house, you really didn't have to put down anything. We had to put $500 down and paid the rest in installments.

2. to write something on paper for others to read We need to put something down that says this is what we plan to do and when we plan to do it. Marcia didn't know what to put down when asked to give the dates of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt.

3. to force violence to stop People asked why government troops weren't called in to put down the rioters.

4. to stop doing something or using something Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. They were ordered to put down their arms and surrender.

5. to kill an animal medically put something to sleep The old dog couldn't walk and was in pain, so we had to have him put down.

See also: down, put

put somebody/something down

also put down somebody/something

to make someone or something appear foolish or unimportant One critic put the author down by saying she wrote like a teenager, but in fact, she is an experienced lawyer. They never put down the competition in their ads.

See also: down, put

put down

1. Write down; also, enter in a list. For example, Please put down my name for a free ticket, or Put me down as a subscriber. [Second half of 1500s]

2. Bring to an end, repress, as in They managed to put down the rebellion in a single day, or We've got to put down these rumors about a takeover. [c. 1300]

3. Kill a sick animal, as in The vet said the dog must be put down. [Mid-1500s] Also see put away, def. 5.

4. Belittle, disparage, criticize, as in Her husband was always putting her down. [c. 1400] Also see run down, def. 6.

5. Ascribe, attribute, as in We put her poor performance down to stage fright. [Late 1700s]

6. Regard, classify, as in We put her down as a hypochondriac. [Mid-1800s]

7. Pay a deposit, as in We put down $2,000 for the car.

8. Store for future use, as in David put down ten cases of this year's Chablis. [Mid-1800s]

9. Land in an aircraft; also, land an aircraft, as in What time will we put down at Heathrow? or She put the plane down exactly on the runway. [c. 1930]

10. Put a child to bed, as in The sitter said she'd put Brian down at 8:30. [Second half of 1900s]

See also: down, put

put down

v.

1. To set something on the surface of something: They put the boxes down on the floor. I put down my pen and looked up. We put a new carpet down.

2. To write down: I grabbed a piece of paper and quickly put down what she had just said. He put his address down on a slip of paper and handed it to me.

3. To assign someone to some task or obligation: We put John down to do the laundry and Mary to do the dishes. You can put me down for a $20 donation, and I'll send you a check next week.

4. To render something ineffective; repress something: We should put down any rumors that we might be leaving town. When the peasants organized a revolution, the dictator called in the army to put it down.

5. To criticize, berate, or insult someone or something: My boss is always putting me down for small mistakes. The teachers put down our knowledge of literature.

6. To kill some animal, especially a domesticated animal that is sick or suffering: We had to put down several cows that had gotten very ill. The vet put our dog down when it became too sick.

7. To put some child to bed: We put the baby down for a nap.

8. To land: The plane put down at O'Hare Airport.

9. To land some aircraft: The pilot put the plane down in a field.

10. To make some down payment: We just put down a deposit on a new house. If I put $100 down today, can I pay the rest next month?

11. put down to To attribute some event to some cause: They put the boating accident down to the captain's inexperience.

See also: down, put