to put to bed

4.7

Finish something completely so no more work is needed

phrasal verb

: dar por terminado

So yeah, you know, I was so happy for me, so happy for me, and in a way it compensated for me inside that I could put to bed all that stuff.

So not the departure itself, but six months from kind of when the legal pieces were put to bed.

Autoplay Next

Examples

After several meetings, they were ready to put to bed the discussions on the new policy.
The team worked hard to put to bed the budget issues before the deadline.
We should put to bed the "means and ends of unity" argument.

Academic text (2002)
We finally managed to put to bed the long-standing debate about our project strategy.

Synonyms

to end

vsto put to bed

∞ 1.0

To stop something or make it finish

adds the idea of resolving outstanding issues through agreement

to finish

vsto put to bed

∞ 1.0

To bring something to an end or complete it

leans more toward resolving or finalizing after discussion or work

to settle

vsto put to bed

596 3.3

To end an argument by agreement or decision

is broader, covering task completion as well as dispute resolution

to wrap up

vsto put to bed

226 3.0

Finish an activity or task

carries extra sense of settling outstanding issues after discussion

to finish up

vsto put to bed

190 2.0

To complete an activity or task

adds the sense of settling matters after work or talk

to put an end to

vsto put to bed

131 3.0

To make something stop completely

emphasizes completing and settling matters through agreement

to finalize

vsto put to bed

74 3.8

Complete the last details to make something ready

focuses on resolving matters after discussion rather than just last details

to finish off

vsto put to bed

31 2.5

To complete the last part of a task

emphasizes resolving issues and confirming completion after discussion

to come to a close

vsto put to bed

22 3.5

To end, often after a meeting or event

implies active work to settle and finalize matters after discussion

to wind up

vsto put to bed

17 3.7

Bring an activity or meeting to an end

includes making decisions that resolve matters after work

to clear up

vsto put to bed

12 2.6

To finish tasks completely so nothing is left

focuses more on resolving discussions and making formal decisions

to finish out

vsto put to bed

11 4.0

To complete something by adding the final touches

stresses reaching an agreed resolution after work or discussion

to close the book on

vsto put to bed

Informal

5 5.3

Decide that a matter has ended and do nothing more about it

is similar but highlights active resolution after discussion

to put a full stop

vsto put to bed

1 3.6

End something completely so it does not continue

is about finishing and resolving things after work or discussion

to terminate the session

vsto put to bed

Specialized

5.8

End a computer or website connection when you finish using it

is less technical and centers on resolving matters after discussion

Antonyms

to start

∞ 1.0

To begin an action, event or process

How Complete

to finalize

74 3.8

to resolve

623 3.3

to put to bed

4.7

to work on

∞ 2.6

to start

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

put to bed infinitive

put to bed past

put to bed past participle

putting to bed present participle

puts to bed third person singular

Morphology

put + to + bed

The components 'put' + 'to' + 'bed' transparently yield the literal sense ‘place into bed’ (put someone to sleep), and a learner who knows 'bed' as a verb might infer a sense of settling. However, the extended meaning 'to complete or finalize something' is a metaphorical extension (put something to rest/bed) that is not fully predictable from the constituents without exposure, so the relation is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Put to bed comes from old newspapers, when editors would say a story or page was ready and 'put to bed' before sending it to the printer, like tucking it away when it was done. That's why today put to bed means 'to finish' or 'to resolve' a task.