put one's foot down

verb

To insist, demand, or refuse with finality.

“I finally put my foot down and demanded to talk to someone in charge.”

Similar
dig in one's heelspound the tablestep on itfloor itput the pedal to the metal
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Meanings

verbput one's foot down (third-person singular simple present puts one's foot down, present participle putting one's foot down, simple past and past participle put one's foot down)

present singular third person puts one's foot down · participle present putting one's foot down

  1. To insist, demand, or refuse with finality.

    I finally put my foot down and demanded to talk to someone in charge.

    Synonyms: dig in one's heels, pound the table

  2. informalliterallyTo make a vehicle go faster; accelerate.

    Synonyms: step on it, floor it, put the pedal to the metal

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo insist, demand, or refuse with finality.

Similar
dig in one's heelspound the table

verbTo make a vehicle go faster; accelerate.

Similar
step on itfloor itput the pedal to the metal
Cite this entry
APA

put one's foot down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20foot%20down

MLA

“put one's foot down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20foot%20down. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put one's foot down,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20foot%20down.

Source: put one's foot down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.