to put down
812
1.0
- phrasal verb
- /pʊt daʊn/
- She carefully put down the fragile vase to avoid breaking it.
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Watch on YouTubeYou just and then put the cookies down and walk away.
- You just and then put the cookies down and walk away.
- And he goes put down your phone, you fucking bitch.
- And if we've done it, we put a finger down, OK, I'm down.
- What you do is you just put it down, twirl it.
Examples
-
Put the whiskey down, Jack.
-
At the thirty-minute mark, Jimmy and Kevin put down their pencils.
Academic text (2003) -
We'll take it down and put it down just there.
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Here we come and put down a straight edge.
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Put... put the gun down.
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Anna, can you put your phone down for one second and come inside, please?
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Carefully, she put down her wineglass and took a step in his direction.
Fiction book (1990) -
Now put down that fairy wand and get back to work.
-
Waiters approach, some to clear the salad plates, some to put down the next course.
Fiction book (1990) -
As Wilson approached, he put down his newspaper and smiled.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To put something down carefully so it is flat on a surface
180
2.0
Move something slowly from a higher to a lower position
159
2.5
To put something in a particular place carefully
70
1.7
To put something or someone down gently on a surface
44
2.5
To put something down carefully in a particular place
39
1.8
To move something from a high place to a lower place
15
3.3
Move something or someone from a higher to a lower place, for example land an aircraft
6
6.7
To put something down so it makes a noise or to pay money quickly
5
3.2
To bring something or someone down from a higher place
1
1.7
Put something on a table or chair so it rests
Antonyms
How Carefully
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense of lowering someone (put = place; down = lower/low) gives a clear metaphorical route from the literal constituents to the idiomatic meaning of belittling, so learners who know both words can often infer the general idea. However, the shift from a physical action to a social/ evaluative meaning (criticize or demean) is a metaphorical extension and not strictly compositional or fully predictable, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Put down The image behind put and down is purely physical: you take something in your hands and lower it onto a table or the floor. That's why it means 'to place something by lowering it'.