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Glite Dictionary
to put one's name in the hat

to put one's name in the hat

1 6.5
To say you want to be chosen for a job or position
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : presentarse
  • If you want to join the team, you need to put your name in the hat by Friday.

Examples

  • She decided to put her name in the hat for the scholarship competition to support her studies.

  • Thank you, everyone, for putting your names in the hat and for your kind words.

    Blog text (7)

  • Just tell me your favorite Halloween candy and I'll put your name in the hat for a chance to win it.

    Blog text (6)

  • Would you put your name in the hat for the work of changing a congregation of wolves into Jesus' little lambs?

    Blog text (4)

  • The teacher asked all interested students to put their names in the hat for the school play auditions.

Synonyms

to put in
vsto put one's name in the hat
60 3.2

Make a formal request or application for something like a job

is more about entering oneself as candidate rather than filing applications
to throw one's hat in the ring
vsto put one's name in the hat
  • Informal
5 7.4

To say you will run for a position, for example in an election

is more about formally entering oneself as a candidate
to enter the competition
vsto put one's name in the hat
3 2.8

To sign up to take part in a contest

is broader covering expressing intent not only official registration
to enter the lists
vsto put one's name in the hat
  • Archaic
9.3

To join a competition that already has other people competing to try to win

is about formally entering to be considered rather than just deciding

Antonyms

to withdraw
466 2.8

To stop taking part in a place or activity

How Official

to run
  • US
∞ 3.0
to put one's name in the hat
  • Informal
1 6.5
to apply
466 1.4

Surface Forms

put one's name in the hat infinitive
put one's name in the hat past
put one's name in the hat past participle
putting one's name in the hat present participle
puts one's name in the hat third person singular

Morphology

put + one + name + in + the + hat

The literal components ('put' + 'name' + 'in' + 'hat') evoke the image of placing a name into a container for selection, so a learner who knows the words may guess this is about entering oneself for consideration. However, understanding that this specifically means 'to formally declare candidacy' relies on cultural/pragmatic knowledge of the selection-by-drawing convention and is somewhat idiomatic, so the relation is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Put one's name in the hat may come from a simple old practice: when a group needed to choose someone, people wrote a name on a piece of paper and put it into a hat to be drawn. So, to put your name in the hat came to mean 'to offer yourself as a candidate' or 'to try to be chosen'.