put-down

American  

[poot-doun] / ˈpʊtˌdaʊn /

Or putdown

noun

1. a landing of an aircraft.

2. Informal.

   1. a disparaging, belittling, or snubbing remark.

   2. a remark or act intended to humiliate or embarrass someone.

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put down British  

verb

1. to make a written record of

2. to repress

   to put down a rebellion

3. to consider; account

   they put him down for an ignoramus

4. to attribute

   I put the mistake down to his inexperience

5. to put to death, because of old age or illness

   the vet put the cat down

6. to table on the agenda

   the MPs put down a motion on the increase in crime

7. to put (a baby) to bed

8. to dismiss, reject, or humiliate

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noun

1. a cruelly crushing remark

put down Idioms  

1. Write down; also, enter in a list. For example, Please put down my name for a free ticket , or Put me down as a subscriber . [Second half of 1500s]

2. Bring to an end, repress, as in They managed to put down the rebellion in a single day , or We've got to put down these rumors about a takeover . [c. 1300]

3. Kill a sick animal, as in The vet said the dog must be put down . [Mid-1500s] Also see put away , def. 5.

4. Belittle, disparage, criticize, as in Her husband was always putting her down . [c. 1400] Also see run down , def. 6.

5. Ascribe, attribute, as in We put her poor performance down to stage fright . [Late 1700s]

6. Regard, classify, as in We put her down as a hypochondriac . [Mid-1800s]

7. Pay a deposit, as in We put down $2,000 for the car .

8. Store for future use, as in David put down ten cases of this year's Chablis . [Mid-1800s]

9. Land in an aircraft; also, land an aircraft, as in What time will we put down at Heathrow ? or She put the plane down exactly on the runway . [c. 1930]

10. Put a child to bed, as in The sitter said she'd put Brian down at 8:30 . [Second half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of put-down

First recorded in 1960–65; noun use of verb phrase put down

Example Sentences

Trump, who has feuded with O'Donnell for decades, saw an opportunity for a put-down when the veteran comic's name came up during Wednesday's meeting.

From Salon • Mar. 12, 2025

It was not only her contemptuous put-down: “You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2023

Industrial policy was for Europeans; a common put-down was that it was “dirigiste,” a French term for “directed.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023

He routinely denounces tiny, dry or flavorless offerings as “dead,” his put-down of choice, unless a wing is beyond awful, in which case it’s deemed “nasty.”

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2022

It’s the quintessential Toronto middle-class-matron put-down, the ultimate disapproval.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• jibe