to put under

17 6.0

Give someone medicine to make them unconscious before an operation

phrasal verb
/pʊt ˈʌndər/

Specialized

: anestesiar

So they decided to do a caesarean and the mother was put under a general anaesthetic.
put under anesthesia
put under for surgery
put under hypnosis

So she's going to get an echocardiogram at the end of the month because she has to be put under for her teeth cleaning.

Autoplay Next

Examples

They had to put her under for the surgery and she... she didn't wake up.

Come Early Morning (2006)
So she's going to get an echocardiogram at the end of the month because she has to be put under for her teeth cleaning.

The Financial Diet
I put him under, and there was something...

The Fourth Kind (2009)
Cunningham thinks he made a mistake by putting you under so soon.

Stone Cold (1991)
We can put you under a very light hypnosis.

The Fourth Kind (2009)
We put her under sedation when she was brought in.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
She was put on the operating room table and immediately put under general anesthesia.

After Death (2023)
You'll be taken to the operating room and put under general anesthesia.

Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)
They IV you up, take you in, and they put you under general anesthesia and they also intubate you, which is putting a tube down your throat.

Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy
The doctor will put under the patient before starting the surgery.

Synonyms

to put to sleep

vsto put under

NSFW

26 6.3

Cause a person or animal to become unconscious, often using medicine

refers only to medically inducing unconsciousness before a procedure

to drug

vsto put under

NSFW

21 7.2

To give someone a substance to make them sleep or act differently

focuses specifically on giving an anesthetic to produce unconsciousness for surgery

to anesthetize

vsto put under

Specialized

12 7.1

To give medicine so a person or animal cannot feel pain, often before surgery

is a neutral phrasal expression used for the same medical action

to put out

vsto put under

Specialized

10 7.3

Make someone sleep so they do not feel pain during an operation

is the standard clinical description rather than a casual phrasal term

to etherize

vsto put under

Archaic

1 9.9

To give someone a drug that makes them unconscious before surgery

covers induction by any anesthetic drug, not one specific chemical

to anesthetise

vsto put under

Specialized

6.1

Give medicine so a person or animal does not feel pain during a medical procedure

is the general phrasal form used regardless of spelling differences

Antonyms

to awaken

73 1.8

To stop sleeping or make someone else wake up

to revive

71 4.1

To make a person conscious again after fainting

How Anesthetized

general anesthesia

Specialized

10 3.9

to anesthetize

Specialized

12 7.1

to put under

Specialized

17 6.0

to sedate

Specialized

95 6.8

Surface Forms

put under infinitive

put under past

put under past participle

putting under present participle

puts under third person singular

Morphology

put + under

The combination of 'put' (bring into a state) and 'under' (in an abstract state/control) gives a plausible inference that someone is being brought into a lowered or controlled state, so a learner might infer 'make unconscious'. However, the specific clinical sense 'administer an anesthetic' is specialized and context-dependent (and 'put under' can mean other states like 'put under stress' or 'put under arrest'), so the meaning is only partially predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Put under may come from a simple image: to put someone under a cover or below the surface, so they are hidden and not aware. That's why doctors 'put someone under' with drugs to make them 'unconscious' before surgery.