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Glite Dictionary
to put down as

to put down as

5 4.3
To register someone for an activity or list and give them a specific role
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : registrar como
  • Put me down as strongly in favor of the Warrior's arena—and I'm not even a basketball fan!
  • put your name down as
  • put my name down as a reference

I wasn't main man, but they put me down as being the main man.

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Examples

  • The teacher put down her as the leader of the group project.

  • Please put down me as a volunteer for the charity event.

  • I put you down... as my alternate.

    Mascots (2016)

  • The supervisor put it down as a leave of absence.

    Gracie (2007)

  • I'll put that down as a denial.

    Fifty Shades Darker (2017)

  • So, you're saying I should put you down as a maybe?

    Miss Sloane (2016)

  • I've put your name down as next of kin.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • You can put me down as "unimpressed" and "very irritated."

    Blog text (24)

  • Can you put down my name as a participant in the workshop?

Synonyms

to register
vsto put down as
603 2.8

To record information officially, for example names or events

also covers choosing or labelling a person into a role or class
to assign
vsto put down as
89 3.1

Decide the group, place, or role something belongs to in a system

records that decision or also enrolls the person officially
to designate
vsto put down as
77 4.4

To give a name, often an official title, to someone or something

focuses more on recording enrollment or formal classification rather than naming
to slate
vsto put down as
45 5.5

To officially schedule a person or event for a specific time

focuses more on recording or categorising rather than scheduling selection
to relegate
vsto put down as
4 7.3

Put something into a certain group or class

emphasises official recording or enrolment rather than mere placement by class
to inscribe
vsto put down as
  • Formal
3 5.9

Put your name on an official list to join a group

also includes assigning or labelling their role or classification

Antonyms

to remove
∞ 1.5

To move something or someone away from a place

Surface Forms

put down as infinitive
putting down as present participle
puts down as third person singular
put downed as past
put downed as past participle

Morphology

put + down + as

The sense 'to register or classify someone as X' follows directly from combining 'put' (place/record) with 'down' (onto a list or note) and 'as' (in the role of), so the overall meaning is compositionally predictable. This verb + particle + preposition pattern is common in English and has clear parallels in other languages, making it understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Put down as comes from the simple act of writing someone's name on a list: you put their name down and add as to show the person's role or position. So this picture of writing someone on a list explains why it means 'to sign someone up' or 'to say someone has a particular role'.