put on

/ˌpʊt ˈɒn/

//ˌpʊt ˈɒn// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"put-on" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“put on” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To don (clothing, equipment, or the like).

Corpus desk

Index EN-put-on · put on · English

put on · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for put on
PropertyValue
Headwordput on
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌpʊt ˈɒn/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “put on” sits in English frequency

put onranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

put on is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌpʊt ˈɒn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 17 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for put on in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is put on, spelled P-U-T- -O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To don (clothing, equipment, or the like).
  2. 2
    To decorate or dress (something) onto another person or a surface.
  3. 3
    To fool, kid, deceive.
  4. 4
    To assume, adopt or affect; to behave in a particular way as a pretense.
  5. 5
    To play (a recording).
  6. 6
    To play (a recording) on (a sound system).
  7. 7
    To initiate cooking or warming, especially on a stovetop.
  8. 8
    To perform for an audience.
  9. 9
    To organize a performance for an audience.
  10. 10
    To provide.
  11. 11
    To bet (money or other items) on (something).
  12. 12
    To assign or apply (something) to a target.
  13. 13
    To give (someone) a role in popular media.
  14. 14
    To set (movie, show, song, etc.) to play on a screen.
  15. 15
    To gain (weight).
  16. 16
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put, on.
  17. 17
    To hurry up; to move swiftly forward.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how put on appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Why don't you put on your jacket. It's cold.
  2. And Iacob vowed a vow, ſaying, If God will be with me, and will keepe me in this way that I goe, and will giue me bꝛead to eate, and raiment to put on.

Synonyms

put downenlistbeclotheclothehoodwinkdeceivehastenspeed up

Antonyms

take offdofftake offundresstake off

This word in other languages

ponerse(Español)mettre(Français)anziehen(Deutsch)vestir(Português)

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 on"?
"put on" is spelled P-U-T- -O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpʊt ˈɒn/.
What does "put on" mean?
As a verb, "put on" means: To don (clothing, equipment, or the like).
How do you pronounce "put on"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "put on" is /ˌpʊt ˈɒn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "put on" come from?
"put on" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

What to do next

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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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list