put on

phrasal verb [transitive]
Word forms "put on":
present tense I/you/we/they put on he/she/it puts on present participle putting on past tense put on past participle put on

1) to cover a part of your body with a piece of clothing or jewellery so that you are wearing it

Dorothy put on her coat and went out.

Kim had forgotten to put his watch on.

2) to spread a cream, liquid, powder, or other substance on your skin or hair in order to make it softer, healthier, or more attractive

Melanie was putting on her makeup in front of the mirror.

3)

a) to make a machine or piece of equipment start working, especially by pressing a switch

Can you put the light on, please?

Shall I put the kettle on for a cup of tea?

I had forgotten to put the handbrake on, so the car rolled back down the hill.

b) to put a video, CD etc in a piece of equipment so that you can watch it or listen to it

I'm going to put my new CD on.

Shall we put some music on?

4) to organize an event, show, performance etc

We're putting on a concert to raise money for cancer charities.

5) to pretend to have a particular feeling or a particular way of speaking or behaving

Stop putting on that funny voice!

be putting it on:

She's not really upset – she's just putting it on.

put on an act:

I think he was just putting on an act to get sympathy.

6) if you put on weight, you become fatter

She put a lot of weight on after the children were born.

I've put on 2kg in the last month.

7) to start cooking something

I'll put the vegetables on in a minute.

8) put something on someone/something to cause something to affect someone or something

I feel that too much responsibility is put on teachers.

Advertising aimed at children puts a lot of pressure on parents.

9) put something on something

British to add an amount of money to the cost or value of something

The government is putting 2p on the price of petrol.

10) put something on someone/something to risk a particular amount of money by trying to guess the result of a race or competition

I put £5 on The Whitkirk Wanderer to win the Grand National.

11) to pass the telephone to someone so they can speak to the person you have been talking to

Wait a minute, Mum, I'll put Joe on.

12) to provide a bus, train etc for people to use

They're going to put on extra buses to take fans to the concert.

13) put someone on something to say what medical treatment someone should have

I was put on a low-fat diet.

The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics.

14) put something on something to record something in an account so that someone can pay for it later

Can you put the drinks on my bill, please?

We put the meal on expenses.

15) same as put up 9), a)

We put on a fantastic performance against a much more experienced side.

16) put someone on something to make someone responsible for dealing with something

I was put on cleaning duties.

17) mainly American informal to try to make someone believe something that is not true

put someone on:

Don't believe that. He's putting you on!