put down

Name: put down, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

verb

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“put down” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English: 8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To insult, belittle, or demean.

Key facts for put down
Property	Value
Headword	put down
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
Letters	8
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “put down” sits in English frequency

put down falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for put down is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 17 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for put down in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is put down, spelled P-U-T- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

1
To insult, belittle, or demean.
2
Of money as deposit, to pay.
3
To halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.
4
To euthanize (an animal).
5
To execute (a person), especially extrajudicially.
6
To write (something).
7
To terminate a call on (a telephone); to hang up.
8
To add a name to a list.
9
To make prices, or taxes, lower.
10
To place a baby somewhere to sleep.
11
To give something as a reason for something else.
12
Of an aircraft, to land.
13
To drop someone off, or let them out of a vehicle.
14
To cease, temporarily or permanently, reading (a book).
15
To drink.
16
To set type in lowercase; to switch type from capital to lowercase letters.
17
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put, down.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

menospreciar(Español)poser(Français)absetzen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "put down"?

"put down" is spelled P-U-T- -D-O-W-N.

What does "put down" mean?

As a verb, "put down" means: To insult, belittle, or demean.

What language does "put down" come from?

"put down" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “put down”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-U-T- -D-O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.