Put

How to spell put

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce put

What does put mean?

1. verbTo move something into a particular place or position.
2. nounAn option contract giving the holder the right to sell an asset at a set price.

Put in a sentence

• verb

  Please put the keys back on the hook by the door.

• noun

  The trader bought a put to protect against a falling share price.

• verb

  She decided to put her savings into a fixed account.

• noun

  A put becomes more valuable as the stock declines.

Where does put come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The verb comes from late Old English putian or the related potian, meaning 'to push, thrust, or shove', and it is recorded from before the Norman Conquest. The original sense was very physical: to drive or propel something with force, which still survives in the athletic event of putting (shot put) and in the golfing term putt, where you push the ball toward the hole. Over the centuries the meaning softened from 'thrust' to the gentle, general idea of 'place or set in position', which is how we use it today. The word stayed remarkably short and stable, keeping its single syllable and its unusual short vowel; unlike most words spelled with 'u' before 't', it rhymes with 'foot' rather than 'cut'. Its Germanic relatives are scarce, which is why some scholars treat the exact prehistory as a little uncertain, though the Old English starting point is secure.

How the word is built

• put (a single Old English root verb; no prefix or suffix, the same form serves present and past tense)