put
[poo
t]
verb, put, put⋅ting, adjective, noun | 1. | to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position: to put a book on the shelf. |
| 2. | to bring into some relation, state, etc.: to put everything in order. |
| 3. | to place in the charge or power of a person, institution, etc.: to put a child in a special school. |
| 4. | to subject to the endurance or suffering of something: to put convicted spies to death. |
| 5. | to set to a duty, task, action, etc.: I put him to work setting the table. |
| 6. | to force or drive to some course or action: to put an army to flight. |
| 7. | to render or translate, as into another language: He put the novel into French. |
| 8. | to provide (words) with music as accompaniment; set: to put a poem to music. |
| 9. | to assign or attribute: You put a political interpretation on everything. |
| 10. | to set at a particular place, point, amount, etc., in a scale of estimation: I'd put the distance at five miles. |
| 11. | to bet or wager: to put two dollars on a horse. |
| 12. | to express or state: To put it mildly, I don't understand. |
| 13. | to apply, as to a use or purpose: to put one's knowledge to practical use. |
| 14. | to set, give, or make: to put an end to an ancient custom. |
| 15. | to propose or submit for answer, consideration, deliberation, etc.: to put a question before a committee. |
| 16. | to impose, as a burden, charge, or the like: to put a tax on luxury articles. |
| 17. | to invest (often fol. by in or into): to put one's money in real estate; to put one's savings into securities. |
| 18. | to lay the blame of (usually fol. by on, to, etc.): He put my failure to lack of experience. |
| 19. | to throw or cast, esp. with a forward motion of the hand when raised close to the shoulder: to put the shot. |
| 20. | to go, move, or proceed: to put to sea. |
| 21. | Informal. to begin to travel: to put for home. |
| 22. | to shoot out or grow, or send forth shoots or sprouts. |
| 23. | a throw or cast, esp. one made with a forward motion of the hand when raised close to the shoulder. |
| 24. | Also called put option. Finance. an option that gives the right to sell a fixed amount of a particular stock at a predetermined price within a given time, purchased by a person who expects the stock to decline. Compare call (def. 52). |
| 25. | put about,
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| 26. | put across,
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| 27. | put aside or by,
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| 28. | put away,
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| 29. | put down,
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| 30. | put forth,
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| 31. | put forward,
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| 32. | put in,
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| 33. | put in for, to apply for or request (something): I put in for a transfer to another department. |
| 34. | put off,
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| 35. | put on,
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| 36. | put out,
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| 37. | put over,
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| 38. | put through,
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| 39. | put up,
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| 40. | put upon, to take unfair advantage of; impose upon: Some of the employees felt put upon when they were asked to work late. |
| 41. | put up to, to provoke; prompt; incite: Someone put him up to calling us. |
| 42. | put up with, to endure; tolerate; bear: I couldn't put up with the noise any longer. |
| 43. | put it to, Slang.
|
| 44. | put oneself out, to take pains; go to trouble or expense: She has certainly put herself out to see that everyone is comfortable. |
| 45. | put something over on, to take advantage of; deceive: He suspected that his friend had put something over on him, but he had no proof. |
| 46. | put to it, to be confronted with a problem; have difficulty: We were put to it to find the missing notebook. |
| 47. | stay put, Informal. to remain in the same position; refuse to move: The baby wouldn't stay put, and kept trying to climb out of the playpen. |
bef. 1000; ME put(t)en to push, thrust, put, OE *putian (as v. noun putung an impelling, inciting); akin to pytan, potian to push, goad, c. ON pota to thrust, poke

1. Put, place, lay, set mean to bring or take an object (or cause it to go) to a certain location or position, there to leave it. Put is the general word: to put the dishes on the table; to put one's hair up. Place is a more formal word, suggesting precision of movement or definiteness of location: He placed his hand on the Bible. Lay, meaning originally to cause to lie, and set, meaning originally to cause to sit, are used particularly to stress the position in which an object is put: lay usually suggests putting an object rather carefully into a horizontal position: to lay a pattern out on the floor. Set usually means to place upright: to set a child on a horse. 16. levy, inflict.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Put
Put\, n. [See Pit.] A pit. [Obs.] --Chaucer.Put
Put\, obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of Put, contracted from putteth. --Chaucer.Put
Put\, n. [Cf. W. pwt any short thing, pwt o ddyn a squab of a person, pwtog a short, thick woman.] A rustic; a clown; an awkward or uncouth person. Queer country puts extol Queen Bess's reign. --Bramston. What droll puts the citizens seem in it all. --F. Harrison.Put
Put\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Put; p. pr. & vb. n. Putting.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.]1. To move in any direction; to impel; to thrust; to push; -- nearly obsolete, except with adverbs, as with by (to put by = to thrust aside; to divert); or with forth (to put forth = to thrust out). His chief designs are . . . to put thee by from thy spiritual employment. --Jer. Taylor. 2. To bring to a position or place; to place; to lay; to set; figuratively, to cause to be or exist in a specified relation, condition, or the like; to bring to a stated mental or moral condition; as, to put one in fear; to put a theory in practice; to put an enemy to fight. This present dignity, In which that I have put you. --Chaucer. I will put enmity between thee and the woman. --Gen. iii. 15. He put no trust in his servants. --Job iv. 18. When God into the hands of their deliverer Puts invincible might. --Milton. In the mean time other measures were put in operation. --Sparks. 3. To attach or attribute; to assign; as, to put a wrong construction on an act or expression. 4. To lay down; to give up; to surrender. [Obs.] No man hath more love than this, that a man put his life for his friends. --Wyclif (John xv. 13). 5. To set before one for judgment, acceptance, or rejection; to bring to the attention; to offer; to state; to express; figuratively, to assume; to suppose; -- formerly sometimes followed by that introducing a proposition; as, to put a question; to put a case. Let us now put that ye have leave. --Chaucer. Put the perception and you put the mind. --Berkeley. These verses, originally Greek, were put in Latin. --Milton. All this is ingeniously and ably put. --Hare. 6. To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige. These wretches put us upon all mischief. --Swift. Put me not use the carnal weapon in my own defense. --Sir W. Scott. Thank him who puts me, loath, to this revenge. --Milton. 7. To throw or cast with a pushing motion "overhand," the hand being raised from the shoulder; a practice in athletics; as, to put the shot or weight. 8. (Mining) To convey coal in the mine, as from the working to the tramway. --Raymond. Put case, formerly, an elliptical expression for, put or suppose the case to be. Put case that the soul after departure from the body may live. --Bp. Hall. To put about (Naut.), to turn, or change the course of, as a ship. To put away. (a) To renounce; to discard; to expel. (b) To divorce. To put back. (a) To push or thrust backwards; hence, to hinder; to delay. (b) To refuse; to deny. Coming from thee, I could not put him back. --Shak. (c) To set, as the hands of a clock, to an earlier hour. (d) To restore to the original place; to replace. To put by. (a) To turn, set, or thrust, aside. "Smiling put the question by." --Tennyson. (b) To lay aside; to keep; to sore up; as, to put by money. To put down. (a) To lay down; to deposit; to set down. (b) To lower; to diminish; as, to put down prices. (c) To deprive of position or power; to put a stop to; to suppress; to abolish; to confute; as, to put down rebellion or traitors. Mark, how a plain tale shall put you down. --Shak. Sugar hath put down the use of honey. --Bacon. (d) To subscribe; as, to put down one's name. To put forth. (a) To thrust out; to extend, as the hand; to cause to come or push out; as, a tree puts forth leaves. (b) To make manifest; to develop; also, to bring into action; to exert; as, to put forth strength. (c) To propose, as a question, a riddle, and the like. (d) To publish, as a book. To put forward. (a) To advance to a position of prominence or responsibility; to promote. (b) To cause to make progress; to aid. (c) To set, as the hands of a clock, to a later hour. To put in. (a) To introduce among others; to insert; sometimes, to introduce with difficulty; as, to put in a word while others are discoursing. (b) (Naut.) To conduct into a harbor, as a ship. (c) (Law) To place in due form before a court; to place among the records of a court. --Burrill. (d) (Med.) To restore, as a dislocated part, to its place. To put off. (a) To lay aside; to discard; as, to put off a robe; to put off mortality. "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet." --Ex. iii. 5. (b) To turn aside; to elude; to disappoint; to frustrate; to baffle. I hoped for a demonstration, but Themistius hoped to put me off with an harangue. --Boyle. We might put him off with this answer. --Bentley. (c) To delay; to defer; to postpone; as, to put off repentance. (d) To get rid of; to dispose of; especially, to pass fraudulently; as, to put off a counterfeit note, or an ingenious theory .(e) To push from land; as, to put off a boat. To put on or upon. (a) To invest one's self with, as clothes; to assume. "Mercury . . . put on the shape of a man." --L'Estrange. (b) To impute (something) to; to charge upon; as, to put blame on or upon another. (c) To advance; to promote. [Obs.] "This came handsomely to put on the peace." --Bacon. (d) To impose; to inflict. "That which thou puttest on me, will I bear." --2 Kings xviii. 14. (e) To apply; as, to put on workmen; to put on steam. (f) To deceive; to trick. "The stork found he was put upon." --L'Estrange. (g) To place upon, as a means or condition; as, he put him upon bread and water. "This caution will put them upon considering." --Locke. (h) (Law) To rest upon; to submit to; as, a defendant puts himself on or upon the country. --Burrill. To put out. (a) To eject; as, to put out and intruder. (b) To put forth; to shoot, as a bud, or sprout. (c) To extinguish; as, to put out a candle, light, or fire. (d) To place at interest; to loan; as, to put out funds. (e) To provoke, as by insult; to displease; to vex; as, he was put out by my reply. [Colloq.] (f) To protrude; to stretch forth; as, to put out the hand. (g) To publish; to make public; as, to put out a pamphlet. (h) To confuse; to disconcert; to interrupt; as, to put one out in reading or speaking. (i) (Law) To open; as, to put out lights, that is, to open or cut windows. --Burrill. (j) (Med.) To place out of joint; to dislocate; as, to put out the ankle. (k) To cause to cease playing, or to prevent from playing longer in a certain inning, as in base ball. To put over. (a) To place (some one) in authority over; as, to put a general over a division of an army. (b) To refer. For the certain knowledge of that truth I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother. --Shak. (c) To defer; to postpone; as, the court put over the cause to the next term. (d) To transfer (a person or thing) across; as, to put one over the river. To put the hand to or unto. (a) To take hold of, as of an instrument of labor; as, to put the hand to the plow; hence, to engage in (any task or affair); as, to put one's hand to the work. (b) To take or seize, as in theft. "He hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods." --Ex. xxii. 11. To put through, to cause to go through all conditions or stages of a progress; hence, to push to completion; to accomplish; as, he put through a measure of legislation; he put through a railroad enterprise. [U.S.] To put to. (a) To add; to unite; as, to put one sum to another. (b) To refer to; to expose; as, to put the safety of the state to hazard. "That dares not put it to the touch." --Montrose. (c) To attach (something) to; to harness beasts to. --Dickens. To put to a stand, to stop; to arrest by obstacles or difficulties. To put to bed. (a) To undress and place in bed, as a child. (b) To deliver in, or to make ready for, childbirth. To put to death, to kill. To put together, to attach; to aggregate; to unite in one. To put this and that (or two and two) together, to draw an inference; to form a correct conclusion. To put to it, to distress; to press hard; to perplex; to give difficulty to. "O gentle lady, do not put me to 't." --Shak. To put to rights, to arrange in proper order; to settle or compose rightly. To put to the sword, to kill with the sword; to slay. To put to trial, or on trial, to bring to a test; to try. To put trust in, to confide in; to repose confidence in. To put up. (a) To pass unavenged; to overlook; not to punish or resent; to put up with; as, to put up indignities. [Obs.] "Such national injuries are not to be put up." --Addison. (b) To send forth or upward; as, to put up goods for sale. (d) To start from a cover, as game. "She has been frightened; she has been put up." --C. Kingsley. (e) To hoard. "Himself never put up any of the rent." --Spelman. (f) To lay side or preserve; to pack away; to store; to pickle; as, to put up pork, beef, or fish. (g) To place out of sight, or away; to put in its proper place; as, put up that letter. --Shak. (h) To incite; to instigate; -- followed by to; as, he put the lad up to mischief. (i) To raise; to erect; to build; as, to put up a tent, or a house. (j) To lodge; to entertain; as, to put up travelers. To put up a job, to arrange a plot. [Slang] Syn: To place; set; lay; cause; produce; propose; state. Usage: Put, Lay, Place, Set. These words agree in the idea of fixing the position of some object, and are often used interchangeably. To put is the least definite, denoting merely to move to a place. To place has more particular reference to the precise location, as to put with care in a certain or proper place. To set or to lay may be used when there is special reference to the position of the object.Put
Put\ (put; often p[u^]t in def. 3), v. i. 1. To go or move; as, when the air first puts up. [Obs.] --Bacon. 2. To steer; to direct one's course; to go. His fury thus appeased, he puts to land. --Dryden. 3. To play a card or a hand in the game called put. To put about (Naut.), to change direction; to tack. To put back (Naut.), to turn back; to return. "The French . . . had put back to Toulon." --Southey. To put forth. (a) To shoot, bud, or germinate. "Take earth from under walls where nettles put forth." --Bacon. (b) To leave a port or haven, as a ship. --Shak. To put in (Naut.), to enter a harbor; to sail into port. To put in for. (a) To make a request or claim; as, to put in for a share of profits. (b) To go into covert; -- said of a bird escaping from a hawk. (c) To offer one's self; to stand as a candidate for. --Locke. To put off, to go away; to depart; esp., to leave land, as a ship; to move from the shore. To put on, to hasten motion; to drive vehemently. To put over (Naut.), to sail over or across. To put to sea (Naut.), to set sail; to begin a voyage; to advance into the ocean. To put up. (a) To take lodgings; to lodge. (b) To offer one's self as a candidate. --L'Estrange. To put up to, to advance to. [Obs.] "With this he put up to my lord." --Swift. To put up with. (a) To overlook, or suffer without recompense, punishment, or resentment; as, to put up with an injury or affront. (b) To take without opposition or expressed dissatisfaction; to endure; as, to put up with bad fare.Put
Put\, n. 1. The act of putting; an action; a movement; a thrust; a push; as, the put of a ball. "A forced put." --L'Estrange. 2. A certain game at cards. --Young. 3. A privilege which one party buys of another to "put" (deliver) to him a certain amount of stock, grain, etc., at a certain price and date. [Brokers' Cant] A put and a call may be combined in one instrument, the holder of which may either buy or sell as he chooses at the fixed price. --Johnson's Cyc.Put
Put\, n. [OF. pute.] A prostitute. [Obs.]Cite This Source
put
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Put
1. An option contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time.
2. The act of exercising a put option.
Investopedia Commentary
A put becomes more valuable as the price of the underlying stock depreciates.
Related Links
Options Basics Tutorial
Alternatives to Closing Below Intrinsic Value
See also: Call, Derivative, Option, Short
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put
- An option that conveys to its holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specific asset at a predetermined price until a certain date. In most cases, puts have 100 shares of stock as the underlying asset. For example, an investor may purchase a put option on GenCorp common stock that confers the right to sell 100 shares at $15 per share until September 21. Puts are sold for a fee by other investors who incur an obligation to purchase the asset if the option holder decides to sell. Investors purchase puts in order to take advantage of a decline in the price of the asset. Compare call 1. Also called put option. See also guarantee letter, synthetic put, transferable put right.
- Sale of an issue of bonds before maturity by forcing the issuer to buy at par. Few bond issues permit the holder this option.
Putting things into perspective: How to hedge, using puts. How to speculate, using puts. A put option has an inverse relationship to the underlying security. As the value of the stock increases, the value of the put decreases. Like calls, puts can be used for both hedging and speculation. Puts can be purchased in conjunction with stock ownership as a form of insurance (that is, a hedge) against downside loss on a stock. If the stock price declines, the put holder can either sell the put and keep the stock, or exercise the put and sell the stock at the put's strike price. In either case, the increased value of the option will offset the stock loss to some degree. If the stock price rises beyond a certain level, the put will expire worthless. In this case, the put holder will lose the premium paid for the option but will still participate in the upward stock movement. The break-even point occurs when the stock price advances beyond the put's strike price plus the premium. Puts also can be used speculatively without a position in the underlying security. Instead of selling a stock short, an investor who anticipates a decline in the price of a stock can buy an at-the-money put. If the stock price rises, causing the put to expire worthless, the maximum loss is the premium paid for the put. But if the stock price declines substantially, the investor could make profits that far exceed the initial cost of the put.Henry Nothnagel, Senior Vice President |
put
- To force the seller of a put option to purchase shares of stock at the stipulated price. Puts are exercised by the owner only when the market price of the underlying stock is less than the strike price. Also called put to seller.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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put
In addition to the idioms beginning with put, also see (put) at ease; (put on a) brave face; cart before the horse, put; clamp down (put the clamps on); flesh out (put flesh and bone on); for (put in one's) two cents; (put on a) hair shirt; hard put; (put) in effect; (put) in the picture; lay (put) one's cards on the table; lay (put) one's hands on; lay (put) the blame on; (put someone's) nose out of joint; not put something past someone; (put) off the track; (put) on a pedestal; (put) out of business; pull (put over) a fast one; put one's head on the block; throw (put) off the scent. Also see under set.
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