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Glite Dictionary
to put over

to put over

8 3.7
To explain an idea so people understand it
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊt ˈoʊvər/
  • UK
translation icon : transmitir
  • He struggled to put over his point during the meeting, but eventually, everyone got it.

And then they kind of thanks to the Oscars and other such mechanisms, have put over onto the masses that these are great people that we should all venerate.

Examples

  • It's of a personal interest to make sure that the point is put over clearly.

    Best Foot Forward (1943)

  • But I think I can put it over.

    Dinner at Eight (1933)

  • We depended on you to put over our beer, and you failed.

    The Bowery (1933)

  • With the right support and training, young people can face the media with the confidence to put over their experiences and views so that the public can learn the reality of being in care.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The teacher found a creative way to put over the lesson so all the students understood.

  • She used a simple analogy to put over her message to the audience clearly.

Synonyms

to make oneself clear
vsto put over
545 3.4

Say something so other people understand what you mean

targets successful communication of the idea rather than the speaker's clarity
to convey
vsto put over
199 3.4

To send information, ideas, or feelings to someone

aims specifically for successful understanding rather than mere transmission
to get across
vsto put over
67 3.0

Make an idea or message clear so other people understand it

focuses on making the message understood rather than style
to set forth
vsto put over
  • Formal
29 4.2

To state something clearly in writing or speech

is used in everyday communication aiming for plain successful understanding
to put across
vsto put over
3 3.5

Make an idea or opinion clear so others understand

aims for successful understanding rather than formal presentation
to put oneself across
vsto put over
6.7

Express your ideas and personality clearly so others understand you

focuses on clear message transmission rather than showing personal impression

Antonyms

to confuse
266 1.9

Make someone unable to think clearly or make something hard to understand

How Clear

to convince
∞ 2.7
to put over
  • UK
8 3.7
to get across
67 3.0
to explain
∞ 1.0
to say
∞ 5.1
to mumble
103 4.9

Surface Forms

put over infinitive
putting over present participle
puts over third person singular
put over past
put over past participle

Morphology

put + over

The verb 'put' already carries the sense 'express/set out', so when combined with a particle like 'over' the phrase plausibly means to transmit or convey an idea. However, the contribution of 'over' is particle-like and somewhat metaphorical (similar to 'put across'), so the exact sense 'communicate successfully so it is understood' is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb put over may come from the image of put and over: you put a note over a table to pass it to someone, moving the message to their side. So, to put over an idea means 'to explain' or 'to make someone understand'.