put up or shut up

verb

To desist from saying something unless one is able to prove it; to act in a manner that makes further talk unnecessary.

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Meanings

verbput up or shut up (third-person singular simple present puts up or shuts up, present participle putting up or shutting up, simple past and past participle put up or shut up)

present singular third person puts up or shuts up · participle present putting up or shutting up · participle past put up · past put up · participle past shut up · past shut up

  1. idiomaticTo desist from saying something unless one is able to prove it; to act in a manner that makes further talk unnecessary.

    "If the evidence for modern Darwinian theory is so overwhelming, they should have called the bluff on the other side and come and made their arguments. ... They should have put up or shut up."

    2005 June 21, Cornelia Dean, “Opting Out in the Debate on Evolution”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2021, retrieved 22 Jun 2011

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
go big or go homego hard or go home
Cite this entry
APA

put up or shut up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20or%20shut%20up

MLA

“put up or shut up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20or%20shut%20up. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put up or shut up,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20or%20shut%20up.

Source: put up or shut up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.