➕ To add 🧥 To dress 🎭 To organize 🎶 To play music 😏 To trick ⚖️ To gain weight ☕ To start heating 🚗 To increase mileage

to put on

∞ 1.0

To dress yourself in clothes or wear things like makeup

phrasal verb
/pʊt ɑn/

: ponerse

I have to put on a necktie and a coat.
put on clothes
put on socks

I used it today to put on my my bronzer.

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Examples

Just put on your oxygen mask.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
The sailor gets up from the bed and begins putting on his clothes.

Fiction book (1990)
Oh it's so nice to put on makeup and see clearly.
Okay, I'm gonna go put my shoes back on.

Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)
"Thanks, mother." "I'm going to be late," she said as she put on her shoes.

Fiction book (1990)
I took a quick shower and put on my one fancy black dress with a pearl necklace.

Fiction book (1990)
I dressed slowly, taking time to put on makeup and to style my hair with a little gel.

Fiction book (1990)
I'm going to put on some lip oil from Hourglass.
The old man helps the boy put on a pair of padded leather mitts.

Academic text (2008)
Before leaving the house, I always put on my favorite jacket.

Synonyms

to dress

vsto put on

∞ 1.0

To put clothes on yourself or someone else

is the general act of dressing or covering the body, including substances

to dress up

vsto put on

351 2.7

Put on special clothes for an event or to look attractive

is the neutral act of dressing or covering, not limited to special wear

to get dressed

vsto put on

278 1.0

To put on clothes

includes both clothing and covering the body with substances like lotion

to dress as

vsto put on

224 3.5

Put on a costume to look like someone or something else

is broader, covering dressing or applying substances without aiming to impersonate

to make up

vsto put on

124 2.6

Put makeup on your face to change how you look

is a wider notion that also includes clothing and other body coverings

to apply

vsto put on

110 1.3

Put a substance onto a surface to cover it

focuses specifically on body coverings as well as clothing, unlike general coating

to suit up

vsto put on

Informal

53 4.0

Put on formal clothes or a uniform for an event

is used for any dressing or body covering, not only formal occasions

to don

vsto put on

Formal

49 6.8

To put on clothes

means dressing in general or covering with substances rather than one item

to get changed

vsto put on

43 2.0

To put on different clothes for a certain activity

covers putting on clothes but does not require changing from previous clothes

to get into

vsto put on

38 2.6

To put on a piece of clothing

covers that action but also means dressing more broadly or applying substances

to slip on

vsto put on

25 1.9

To put clothes or shoes on quickly and easily

is the broader act of dressing or covering regardless of speed or ease

Antonyms

to undress

NSFW

60 2.0

To take off clothes from yourself or another person

How Dressed

to bundle up

17 2.4

to dress

∞ 1.0

to put on

∞ 1.0

to slip on

25 1.9

Surface Forms

put on infinitive

put on past

put on past participle

putting on present participle

puts on third person singular

Morphology

put + on

The basic sense 'to dress oneself' is directly derivable from combining 'put' (place) with 'on' (onto the body) and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words. However, extended senses like 'put on a show' (to stage/present) or idiomatic uses (e.g. 'put on' meaning to pretend) involve metaphorical extension and phrasal-verb idiosyncrasy that are not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb put on comes from the simple action of placing clothes or makeup onto your body. You put the item on yourself, so it means 'to dress' or 'to cover' part of the body.