Definition of "put down" in English

Verb

To insult, belittle, or demean.
- They frequently put down their little sister for walking slowly.
Of money as deposit, to pay.
- We put down a $1,000 deposit.
To halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.
- The government quickly put down the insurrection.
To euthanize (an animal).
- Rex was in so much pain, they had to put him down.
To execute (a person), especially extrajudicially.
To write (something).
- Put down the first thing you think of on this piece of paper.
To terminate a call on (a telephone); to hang up.
- Don't put the phone down. I want a quick word with him, too.
To add a name to a list.
- I've put myself down for the new Spanish conversation course.
To make prices, or taxes, lower.
- BP are putting petrol and diesel down in what could be the start of a price war.
To place a baby somewhere to sleep.
- I had just put Mary down when you rang. So now she's crying again.
To give something as a reason for something else.
- She put her long life down to daily meditation.
Of an aircraft, to land.
- The pilot managed to put down in a nearby farm field.
To drop someone off, or let them out of a vehicle.
- The taxi put him down outside the hotel.
To cease, temporarily or permanently, reading (a book).
- I was unable to put down The Stand: it was that exciting.
To drink.
- I put down two bottles of red wine.
To set type in lowercase; to switch type from capital to lowercase letters.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put,‎ down.
- Why don't you put down your briefcase and stay awhile?

Noun

Alternative spelling of put-down.