Put v. t. [imp. & p. p. Put; p. pr. & vb. n. Putting.]
 1. To move in any direction; to impel; to thrust; to push; -- nearly obsolete, except with adverbs, as with by (to put by = to thrust aside; to divert); or with forth (to put forth = to thrust out).
    His chief designs are . . . to put thee by from thy spiritual employment.   --Jer. Taylor.
 2. To bring to a position or place; to place; to lay; to set; figuratively, to cause to be or exist in a specified relation, condition, or the like; to bring to a stated mental or moral condition; as, to put one in fear; to put a theory in practice; to put an enemy to fight.
 This present dignity,
 In which that I have put you.   --Chaucer.
    I will put enmity between thee and the woman.   --Gen. iii. 15.
    He put no trust in his servants.   --Job iv. 18.
 When God into the hands of their deliverer
 Puts invincible might.   --Milton.
    In the mean time other measures were put in operation.   --Sparks.
 3. To attach or attribute; to assign; as, to put a wrong construction on an act or expression.
 4. To lay down; to give up; to surrender. [Obs.]
    No man hath more love than this, that a man put his life for his friends.   --Wyclif (John xv. 13).
 5. To set before one for judgment, acceptance, or rejection; to bring to the attention; to offer; to state; to express; figuratively, to assume; to suppose; -- formerly sometimes followed by that introducing a proposition; as, to put a question; to put a case.
    Let us now put that ye have leave.   --Chaucer.
    Put the perception and you put the mind.   --Berkeley.
    These verses, originally Greek, were put in Latin.   --Milton.
    All this is ingeniously and ably put.   --Hare.
 6. To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige.
    These wretches put us upon all mischief.   --Swift.
    Put me not use the carnal weapon in my own defense.   --Sir W. Scott.
    Thank him who puts me, loath, to this revenge.   --Milton.
 7. To throw or cast with a pushing motion “overhand,” the hand being raised from the shoulder; a practice in athletics; as, to put the shot or weight.
 8. Mining To convey coal in the mine, as from the working to the tramway.
 Put case, formerly, an elliptical expression for, put or suppose the case to be.
    Put case that the soul after departure from the body may live.   --Bp. Hall.

 To put about Naut., to turn, or change the course of, as a ship.
 To put away. (a) To renounce; to discard; to expel. (b) To divorce.
 To put back. (a) To push or thrust backwards; hence, to hinder; to delay. (b) To refuse; to deny.
    Coming from thee, I could not put him back.   --Shak.
 (c) To set, as the hands of a clock, to an earlier hour. (d) To restore to the original place; to replace.
 To put by. (a) To turn, set, or thrust, aside. “Smiling put the question by.” --Tennyson. (b) To lay aside; to keep; to sore up; as, to put by money.
 To put down. (a) To lay down; to deposit; to set down. (b) To lower; to diminish; as, to put down prices. (c) To deprive of position or power; to put a stop to; to suppress; to abolish; to confute; as, to put down rebellion or traitors.
    Mark, how a plain tale shall put you down.   --Shak.
    Sugar hath put down the use of honey.   --Bacon.
 (d) To subscribe; as, to put down one's name.
 To put forth. (a) To thrust out; to extend, as the hand; to cause to come or push out; as, a tree puts forth leaves. (b) To make manifest; to develop; also, to bring into action; to exert; as, to put forth strength. (c) To propose, as a question, a riddle, and the like. (d) To publish, as a book.
 To put forward. (a) To advance to a position of prominence or responsibility; to promote. (b) To cause to make progress; to aid. (c) To set, as the hands of a clock, to a later hour.
 To put in. (a) To introduce among others; to insert; sometimes, to introduce with difficulty; as, to put in a word while others are discoursing. (b) Naut. To conduct into a harbor, as a ship. (c) Law To place in due form before a court; to place among the records of a court. --Burrill. (d) Med. To restore, as a dislocated part, to its place.
 To put off. (a) To lay aside; to discard; as, to put off a robe; to put off mortality. “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” --Ex. iii. 5. (b) To turn aside; to elude; to disappoint; to frustrate; to baffle.
    I hoped for a demonstration, but Themistius hoped to put me off with an harangue.   --Boyle.
    We might put him off with this answer.   --Bentley.
 (c) To delay; to defer; to postpone; as, to put off repentance. (d) To get rid of; to dispose of; especially, to pass fraudulently; as, to put off a counterfeit note, or an ingenious theory. (e) To push from land; as, to put off a boat.
 To put on or To put upon. (a) To invest one's self with, as clothes; to assume. “Mercury . . . put on the shape of a man.” --L'Estrange. (b) To impute (something) to; to charge upon; as, to put blame on or upon another. (c) To advance; to promote. [Obs.] “This came handsomely to put on the peace.” --Bacon. (d) To impose; to inflict. “That which thou puttest on me, will I bear.” --2 Kings xviii. 14. (e) To apply; as, to put on workmen; to put on steam. (f) To deceive; to trick. “The stork found he was put upon.” --L'Estrange. (g) To place upon, as a means or condition; as, he put him upon bread and water. “This caution will put them upon considering.” --Locke. (h) Law To rest upon; to submit to; as, a defendant puts himself on or upon the country. --Burrill.
 To put out. (a) To eject; as, to put out and intruder. (b) To put forth; to shoot, as a bud, or sprout. (c) To extinguish; as, to put out a candle, light, or fire. (d) To place at interest; to loan; as, to put out funds. (e) To provoke, as by insult; to displease; to vex; as, he was put out by my reply. [Colloq.] (f) To protrude; to stretch forth; as, to put out the hand. (g) To publish; to make public; as, to put out a pamphlet. (h) To confuse; to disconcert; to interrupt; as, to put one out in reading or speaking. (i) Law To open; as, to put out lights, that is, to open or cut windows. --Burrill. (j) Med. To place out of joint; to dislocate; as, to put out the ankle. (k) To cause to cease playing, or to prevent from playing longer in a certain inning, as in base ball. (l) to engage in sexual intercourse; -- used of women; as, she's got a great bod, but she doesn't put out. [Vulgar slang]
 To put over. (a) To place (some one) in authority over; as, to put a general over a division of an army. (b) To refer.
 For the certain knowledge of that truth
 I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother.   --Shak.
 (c) To defer; to postpone; as, the court put over the cause to the next term. (d) To transfer (a person or thing) across; as, to put one over the river.
 To put the hand to or To put the hand unto. (a) To take hold of, as of an instrument of labor; as, to put the hand to the plow; hence, to engage in (any task or affair); as, to put one's hand to the work. (b) To take or seize, as in theft. “He hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods.” --Ex. xxii. 11.
 To put through, to cause to go through all conditions or stages of a progress; hence, to push to completion; to accomplish; as, he put through a measure of legislation; he put through a railroad enterprise. [U.S.]
 To put to. (a) To add; to unite; as, to put one sum to another. (b) To refer to; to expose; as, to put the safety of the state to hazard. “That dares not put it to the touch.” --Montrose. (c) To attach (something) to; to harness beasts to. --Dickens.
 To put to a stand, to stop; to arrest by obstacles or difficulties.
 To put to bed. (a) To undress and place in bed, as a child. (b) To deliver in, or to make ready for, childbirth.
 To put to death, to kill.
 To put together, to attach; to aggregate; to unite in one.
 To put this and that (or two and two) together, to draw an inference; to form a correct conclusion.
 To put to it, to distress; to press hard; to perplex; to give difficulty to. “O gentle lady, do not put me to 't.” --Shak.
 To put to rights, to arrange in proper order; to settle or compose rightly.
 To put to the sword, to kill with the sword; to slay.
 To put to trial, or on trial, to bring to a test; to try.
 To put trust in, to confide in; to repose confidence in.
 To put up. (a) To pass unavenged; to overlook; not to punish or resent; to put up with; as, to put up indignities. [Obs.] “Such national injuries are not to be put up.” --Addison. (b) To send forth or upward; as, to put up goods for sale. (d) To start from a cover, as game. “She has been frightened; she has been put up.” --C. Kingsley. (e) To hoard. “Himself never put up any of the rent.” --Spelman. (f) To lay side or preserve; to pack away; to store; to pickle; as, to put up pork, beef, or fish. (g) To place out of sight, or away; to put in its proper place; as, put up that letter. --Shak. (h) To incite; to instigate; -- followed by to; as, he put the lad up to mischief. (i) To raise; to erect; to build; as, to put up a tent, or a house. (j) To lodge; to entertain; as, to put up travelers.
 To put up a job, to arrange a plot. [Slang]
 Syn: -- To place; set; lay; cause; produce; propose; state.
 Usage: -- Put, Lay, Place, Set. These words agree in the idea of fixing the position of some object, and are often used interchangeably. To put is the least definite, denoting merely to move to a place. To place has more particular reference to the precise location, as to put with care in a certain or proper place.  To set or to lay may be used when there is special reference to the position of the object.


 Hand n.
 1. That part of the fore limb below the forearm or wrist in man and monkeys, and the corresponding part in many other animals; manus; paw. See Manus.
 2. That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand; as: (a) A limb of certain animals, as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey. (b) An index or pointer on a dial; as, the hour or minute hand of a clock.
 3. A measure equal to a hand's breadth, -- four inches; a palm. Chiefly used in measuring the height of horses.
 4. Side; part; direction, either right or left.
    On this hand and that hand, were hangings.   --Ex. xxxviii. 15.
    The Protestants were then on the winning hand.   --Milton.
 5. Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.
    He had a great mind to try his hand at a Spectator.   --Addison.
 6. Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.
    To change the hand in carrying on the war.   --Clarendon.
    Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand.   --Judges vi. 36.
 7. An agent; a servant, or laborer; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty; a performer more or less skillful; as, a deck hand; a farm hand; an old hand at speaking.
    A dictionary containing a natural history requires too many hands, as well as too much time, ever to be hoped for.   --Locke.
    I was always reckoned a lively hand at a simile.   --Hazlitt.
 8. Handwriting; style of penmanship; as, a good, bad, or running hand.  Hence, a signature.
 I say she never did invent this letter;
 This is a man's invention and his hand.   --Shak.
    Some writs require a judge's hand.   --Burril.
 9. Personal possession; ownership; hence, control; direction; management; -- usually in the plural. “Receiving in hand one year's tribute.”
    Albinus . . . found means to keep in his hands the government of Britain.   --Milton.
 10. Agency in transmission from one person to another; as, to buy at first hand, that is, from the producer, or when new; at second hand, that is, when no longer in the producer's hand, or when not new.
 11. Rate; price. [Obs.] “Business is bought at a dear hand, where there is small dispatch.”
 12. That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once; as: (a) Card Playing The quota of cards received from the dealer. (b) Tobacco Manuf. A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.
 13. Firearms The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
 Note: ☞ Hand is used figuratively for a large variety of acts or things, in the doing, or making, or use of which the hand is in some way employed or concerned; also, as a symbol to denote various qualities or conditions, as: (a) Activity; operation; work; -- in distinction from the head, which implies thought, and the heart, which implies affection. “His hand will be against every man.” --Gen. xvi. 12.(b) Power; might; supremacy; -- often in the Scriptures. “With a mighty hand . . . will I rule over you.” --Ezek. xx. 33. (c) Fraternal feeling; as, to give, or take, the hand; to give the right hand. (d) Contract; -- commonly of marriage; as, to ask the hand; to pledge the hand.
 Note: ☞ Hand is often used adjectively or in compounds (with or without the hyphen), signifying performed by the hand; as, hand blow or hand-blow, hand gripe or hand-gripe: used by, or designed for, the hand; as, hand ball or handball, hand bow, hand fetter, hand grenade or hand-grenade, handgun or hand gun, handloom or hand loom, handmill or hand organ or handorgan, handsaw or hand saw, hand-weapon: measured or regulated by the hand; as, handbreadth or hand's breadth, hand gallop or hand-gallop. Most of the words in the following paragraph are written either as two words or in combination.
 Hand bag, a satchel; a small bag for carrying books, papers, parcels, etc.
 Hand basket, a small or portable basket.
 Hand bell, a small bell rung by the hand; a table bell. --Bacon.
 Hand bill, a small pruning hook. See 4th Bill.
 Hand car. See under Car.
 Hand director Mus., an instrument to aid in forming a good position of the hands and arms when playing on the piano; a hand guide.
 Hand drop. See Wrist drop.
 Hand gallop. See under Gallop.
 Hand gear Mach., apparatus by means of which a machine, or parts of a machine, usually operated by other power, may be operated by hand.
 Hand glass. (a) A glass or small glazed frame, for the protection of plants. (b) A small mirror with a handle.
 Hand guide. Same as Hand director (above).
 Hand language, the art of conversing by the hands, esp. as practiced by the deaf and dumb; dactylology.
 Hand lathe. See under Lathe.
 Hand money, money paid in hand to bind a contract; earnest money.
 Hand organ Mus., a barrel organ, operated by a crank turned by hand.
 Hand plant. Bot. Same as Hand tree (below). -- Hand rail, a rail, as in staircases, to hold by. --Gwilt.
 Hand sail, a sail managed by the hand. --Sir W. Temple.
 Hand screen, a small screen to be held in the hand.
 Hand screw, a small jack for raising heavy timbers or weights; Carp. a screw clamp.
 Hand staff (pl. Hand staves), a javelin. --Ezek. xxxix. 9.
 Hand stamp, a small stamp for dating, addressing, or canceling papers, envelopes, etc.
 Hand tree Bot., a lofty tree found in Mexico (Cheirostemon platanoides), having red flowers whose stamens unite in the form of a hand.
 Hand vise, a small vise held in the hand in doing small work. --Moxon.
 Hand work, or Handwork, work done with the hands, as distinguished from work done by a machine; handiwork.
 All hands, everybody; all parties.
 At all hands, On all hands, on all sides; from every direction; generally.
 At any hand, At no hand, in any (or no) way or direction; on any account; on no account. “And therefore at no hand consisting with the safety and interests of humility.” --Jer. Taylor.
 At first hand, At second hand. See def. 10 (above).
 At hand. (a) Near in time or place; either present and within reach, or not far distant. “Your husband is at hand; I hear his trumpet.” --Shak. (b) Under the hand or bridle. [Obs.] “Horses hot at hand.” --Shak.
 At the hand of, by the act of; as a gift from. “Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?” --Job ii. 10.
 Bridle hand. See under Bridle.
 By hand, with the hands, in distinction from instrumentality of tools, engines, or animals; as, to weed a garden by hand; to lift, draw, or carry by hand.
 Clean hands, freedom from guilt, esp. from the guilt of dishonesty in money matters, or of bribe taking. “He that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.” --Job xvii. 9.
 From hand to hand, from one person to another.
 Hand in hand. (a) In union; conjointly; unitedly. --Swift. (b) Just; fair; equitable.
    As fair and as good, a kind of hand in hand comparison.   --Shak.

 Hand over hand, Hand over fist, by passing the hands alternately one before or above another; as, to climb hand over hand; also, rapidly; as, to come up with a chase hand over hand.
 Hand over head, negligently; rashly; without seeing what one does. [Obs.] --Bacon.
 Hand running, consecutively; as, he won ten times hand running.
 Hands off! keep off! forbear! no interference or meddling!
 Hand to hand, in close union; in close fight; as, a hand to hand contest. --Dryden.
 Heavy hand, severity or oppression.
 In hand. (a) Paid down. “A considerable reward in hand, and . . . a far greater reward hereafter.” --Tillotson. (b) In preparation; taking place. --Chaucer. “Revels . . . in hand.” --Shak. (c) Under consideration, or in the course of transaction; as, he has the business in hand.
 In one's hand or In one's hands. (a) In one's possession or keeping. (b) At one's risk, or peril; as, I took my life in my hand.
 Laying on of hands, a form used in consecrating to office, in the rite of confirmation, and in blessing persons.
 Light hand, gentleness; moderation.
 Note of hand, a promissory note.
 Off hand, Out of hand, forthwith; without delay, hesitation, or difficulty; promptly. “She causeth them to be hanged up out of hand.” --Spenser.
 Off one's hands, out of one's possession or care.
 On hand, in present possession; as, he has a supply of goods on hand.
 On one's hands, in one's possession care, or management.
 Putting the hand under the thigh, an ancient Jewish ceremony used in swearing.
 Right hand, the place of honor, power, and strength.
 Slack hand, idleness; carelessness; inefficiency; sloth.
 Strict hand, severe discipline; rigorous government.
 To bear a hand Naut., to give help quickly; to hasten.
 To bear in hand, to keep in expectation with false pretenses. [Obs.] --Shak.
 To be hand and glove with or To be hand in glove with. See under Glove.
 To be on the mending hand, to be convalescent or improving.
 To bring up by hand, to feed (an infant) without suckling it.
 To change hand. See Change.
 To change hands, to change sides, or change owners. --Hudibras.
 To clap the hands, to express joy or applause, as by striking the palms of the hands together.
 To come to hand, to be received; to be taken into possession; as, the letter came to hand yesterday.
 To get hand, to gain influence. [Obs.]
    Appetites have . . . got such a hand over them.   --Baxter.

 To get one's hand in, to make a beginning in a certain work; to become accustomed to a particular business.
 To have a hand in, to be concerned in; to have a part or concern in doing; to have an agency or be employed in.
 To have in hand. (a) To have in one's power or control. --Chaucer. (b) To be engaged upon or occupied with.
 To have one's hands full, to have in hand all that one can do, or more than can be done conveniently; to be pressed with labor or engagements; to be surrounded with difficulties.
 To have the (higher) upper hand,  or To get the (higher) upper hand, to have, or get, the better of another person or thing.
 To his hand, To my hand, etc., in readiness; already prepared. “The work is made to his hands.” --Locke.
 To hold hand, to compete successfully or on even conditions. [Obs.] --Shak.
 To lay hands on, to seize; to assault.
 To lend a hand, to give assistance.
 To lift the hand against,  or To put forth the hand against, to attack; to oppose; to kill.
 To live from hand to mouth, to obtain food and other necessaries as want compels, without previous provision.
 To make one's hand, to gain advantage or profit.
 To put the hand unto, to steal. --Ex. xxii. 8.
 To put the last hand to or To put the finishing hand to, to make the last corrections in; to complete; to perfect.
 To set the hand to, to engage in; to undertake.
    That the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to.   --Deut. xxiii. 20.

 To stand one in hand, to concern or affect one.
 To strike hands, to make a contract, or to become surety for another's debt or good behavior.
 To take in hand. (a) To attempt or undertake. (b) To seize and deal with; as, he took him in hand.
 To wash the hands of, to disclaim or renounce interest in, or responsibility for, a person or action; as, to wash one's hands of a business. --Matt. xxvii. 24.
 Under the hand of, authenticated by the handwriting or signature of; as, the deed is executed under the hand and seal of the owner.