putting

4.4

Hitting a golf ball gently on the green to get it into the hole

noun
/ˈpʌtɪŋ/

: putt

She demonstrated exceptional putting skills during the tournament, sinking many crucial putts.

Examples

THAT'S MY PUTTING HAND.

Recess: School's Out (2001)
And the sheik's pUtting up $1 million to the winner.

Cannonball Run II (1984)
His putting on the green improved significantly after practicing regularly.
After a long day on the course, refining my putting technique was my main focus.

Idioms

putting one's house in order

1 4.9

Getting your home and things tidy and ready

to putting words in someone's mouth

Informal

1 8.0

To claim someone said something they did not say

putting a hat on a hat

Informal

9.9

Adding an extra thing to something that is already enough

Compounds

putting green

3 3.4

An area of very short grass around a golf hole where players putt

putting to death

NSFW

1 8.4

Killing a living thing, for example as punishment or to end suffering

putting surface

1 5.2

An area of closely cut grass around a golf hole where players hit the ball toward the hole

putting iron

Archaic

9.7

A golf club like an iron used to roll the ball on the green before modern clubs

Surface Forms

putting singular

puttings plural

Morphology

putting = putt (transparent) = putt + ing

The transformation from 'putt' to 'putting' is a standard verb to gerund conversion.

Etymology

Putting comes from the short golf verb putt, which is related to the everyday verb put meaning 'to place' or 'push'. So putting is the gentle 'push' or careful placing of the ball on the green to get it into the hole.