put on

present singular third person puts on · participle present putting on

1. transitiveTo don (clothing, equipment, or the like).

   Why don't you put on your jacket. It's cold.

   1 more example

   And Iacob vowed a vow, ſaying, If God will be with me, and will keepe me in this way that I goe, and will giue me bꝛead to eate, and raiment to put on.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 22:5

   Synonyms: beclothe

2. ditransitivetransitiveTo decorate or dress (something) onto another person or a surface.

   I put a coat on my daughter.

   1 more example

   I put tinsel on the Christmas tree.

3. intransitivetransitiveTo fool, kid, deceive.

   You must be putting me on.

   1 more example

   She's putting on that she's sicker than she really is.

   Synonyms: hoodwink

4. transitiveTo assume, adopt or affect; to behave in a particular way as a pretense.

   Why are you putting that silly voice on?

   1 more example

   He's just putting on that limp -- his leg's actually fine.

5. transitiveTo play (a recording).

   I'll put your favorite record on.

   1 more example

   Can you put on The Sound of Music? I'd like to see it again.

6. ditransitivetransitiveTo play (a recording) on (a sound system).

   I'll put blues on the stereo.

   1 more example

   We usually put the Beatles on on my boombox.

7. transitiveTo initiate cooking or warming, especially on a stovetop.

   I'll put on some coffee for everybody.

8. transitiveTo perform for an audience.

   The actors put on a show last Saturday.

   1 more example

   The actors will put Macbeth on only one more time.

9. transitiveTo organize a performance for an audience.

   The theatre company is putting on Into the Woods this season.

   1 more example

   The big and little inmates of the Edgewater Orphanage will receive a visit from St. Claus tonight, when members of the Townsmen Society of Norfolk, loaded down with toys and useful presents, will visit the institution to put on their annual Christmas party.

   1936 December 22, “Orphans Given Party Tonight: Members of Townsmen Society to Be Accompanied by Santa, with Pack”, in Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, volume CXLIII, number 83, Norfolk, Va., →OCLC, page 9, column 6

10. transitiveTo provide.

    Peterbough United have been playing at Lincoln, in something of a local derby. EMR has put on a six-car Class 158 as an additional train, to take 'Posh' fans home (Posh is the team's nickname, by the way).

    2024 April 17, “Rural railways: do they deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1007, page 58

11. ditransitivetransitiveTo bet (money or other items) on (something).

    I put five pounds on that racehorse.

12. ditransitivetransitiveTo assign or apply (something) to a target.

    The witch put a hex on me.

    3 more examples

    The gang boss put some goons on the other gang.

    This puts a completely different hue on the matter.

    Carl has been put on the front desk for tonight's shift.

13. transitiveTo give (someone) a role in popular media.

    I hope they put me on TV.

    1 more example

    They put her on a billboard.

14. transitiveTo set (movie, show, song, etc.) to play on a screen.

    I put SpongeBob on when the kid gets fussy.

15. datedtransitiveTo switch on (a device).

    "Then the meter had been put on again?"

    1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC

16. transitiveTo gain (weight).

    I put on at least five kilos over the holidays.

17. transitiveUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put, on.

    Put it on the list.

    2 more examples

    He put the pen on the table.

    The doctor put me on a diet.

18. intransitiveobsoletetransitiveTo hurry up; to move swiftly forward.

    Sophia […] saw several horses coming after on full speed. This greatly alarmed her fears, and she called to the guide to put on as fast as possible.

    1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

    Synonyms: hasten