The Phrasal Verb 'Put In' Explained
- Phrasal Verbs Explained
- May 2
- 14 min read
Updated: May 3
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'put in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
When you think of phrasal verbs, 'put in' probably isn't one of the first ones that you think of, but it may surprise you to learn that it has at least 7 different uses in everyday English. In this post, I will explain all of these different uses to you and provide you with lots of example sentences to show you the typical contexts in which each one is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start....
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'in'
Meaning 1: Literal
Meaning 2: To install something
Meaning 3: To include something
Meaning 4: To spend time doing something
Meaning 5: To request or apply for something
Meaning 6: To add to a conversation
Meaning 7: To call at a port
I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 |
THE BASICS
PUT IN: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 7 |
Past tense forms | Put in / Put in |
Separable? | Yes |
Before we jump in to the different meanings and uses of 'put in', let's first briefly consider the words 'put' and 'in' as individual lexical units.
The verb 'to put' is an extremely versatile irregular verb in English that we use in a wide variety of different ways. In its most commonly used application, it means 'to place an object in a position or place' and can be used both physically and metaphorically. In addition to this, it's other meanings include 'to cause someone to be in a situation', 'to write', 'to categorise' and 'to travel in a boat' (more of this to come later).
Where did you put my bag?
John put his hand on his wife's shoulder.
That news has put me in a bad mood.
Can you put all of that into an email and send it to me?
I was put in a group with my friends at school today.
The prepositional particle 'in' features in many different phrasal verbs and in its most obvious sense is used to convey the idea of a movement from the outside of something to the inside (go in, walk in). Moreover, we also use it in phrasal verb constructions to add ideas like fulfilment (hand in), arrival (check in), collection (bring in) and inclusion (join in) to phrasal verbs.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'put in'.
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A1 - Beginner |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To place in, to put inside, to fill |
Separable? | Always |
We will start the meanings of 'put in' with the literal meaning of the words 'put' and 'in' combined, which is simply 'to place something into an interior space'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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In very basic terms, this first application is just the basic action of placing an object into an enclosed space. Therefore, as you can probably imagine, this can be used in an enormous number of different situations and with an almost infinite number of nouns.
For instance, you can put your keys in your bag, put your clothes in the wardrobe or in the washing machine, put your milk in the fridge, put your bicycle in the garage, put your horse in the stable etc......the list is endless!
Note that when we use this application, it is almost always separable, with the noun or pronoun going after the word 'put' and the internal space after the word 'in'.
Sally put the groceries in the fridge as soon as she got home.
Martin put his phone in his pocket and walked away.
The kids forgot to put their toys in the toy box after playing.
I put the letter in the envelope, sealed it and put it in the postbox.
We put the dishes in the dishwasher after dinner.
Jeremy put his hand in the bag to grab a snack.
I put the key in the lock and turned it but the door wouldn't open.
Andrew put the book in his backpack before leaving for school.
One noun that I want to mention specifically with this first application of 'put in' is 'money' (or its various synonyms like cash, savings etc.). When we have money and we want it to deposit it in our bank account, we say that we "put it in the bank". This does not just apply to physical money, which we seem to have less and less in today's world, but also to any electronic transfers of money and investments. It is equally possible to use 'into' when stating the financial institution or investment type.
Furthermore, when we are talking specifically talking about investing or paying money, we often do not state what we are paying or investing into as it is often known from the context.
Carrie put in £1,000 into a new mutual fund last month.
Louise and Matt put in a lot of money to renovate the old house.
My brother is planning to put in some cash to help start my business.
We’ve already put in thousands of dollars, but the project still isn’t finished.
I put in a small deposit to reserve the apartment.
Investors were eager to put in their money once they saw the potential.
Yuki put in all his savings to buy a stake in the company.
MEANING 2: To install something
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To install, to fit, to fix |
Separable? | Yes |
Another common way to use the phrasal verb 'put in' is in reference to things like equipment, systems and furniture as it means 'to install something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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For this application, we are focussing on items or systems that must be installed, secured and prepared for people to use or operate. These are normally large and complex things that require an amount of skill or labour to install safely and securely. For example, you may be renovating your kitchen and need to put in a new oven and dishwasher, you may want to put in a pond in your garden or the company that you work for may want to put in a new IT system to replace the existing one.
We want to put in a new air conditioning system before summer.
The family put in a security camera at the front door following the burglary.
My landlord put in a new dishwasher last week; no more hand washing up for me!
We're thinking of putting in hardwood floors throughout the house.
The company put in new computers for all the employees.
I want to put in some shelves in the living room for all my books.
My parents put in a skylight to bring more natural light into the kitchen.
An electrician came to put in extra outlets in the office.
Unless you have the required skills (I do not), then it is quite normal to hire a professional to come in and do the 'putting in' or installation work for you. It is therefore common to use this application with the causative verbs 'have' or 'get' in a passive construction to specify that we did not perform the action ourselves and somebody else did it for us.
Susie had a walk-in shower put in during her bathroom renovation.
We're getting a new heating system put in next month.
MEANING 3: To include something
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To include, to write |
Separable? | Yes |
This third application of 'put in' is one that I have to use on a weekly basis when writing this blog as it is specifically used to talk about words and language and means 'to include'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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If you have read the Basics section earlier on in the post, you may remember that one of the meanings of the verb 'to put' is to write something and it is from this meaning that we get this next usage of 'put in'. When we use 'put in' to refer to writing and words, it means to include them in something that is being written. This may be something that you are creating yourself e.g. a story, letter, speech or report or it may be something where you have to complete the information in a field or box e.g. a form.
For example, if you are preparing a report for your boss, you may have to decide which information you need to put in and which you need to leave out. Alternatively, if you are writing a story, you may write something but decide not to put it in. Likewise, if you are completing a form, there may be a section that you don't understand and therefore you may not know what to put in.
Alfred put in a reference to the research study in his article.
The editor asked Michelle to put more detail in about the main character’s background.
Don’t forget to put a thank-you note in at the end of the email.
They decided to put in a clause to cover unexpected delays in the contract.
I put in a request for clarification in the margin.
Can you put a line in about our new product launch?
The writer put in some dialogue to make the scene more realistic.
We can also use this application in reference to spoken language such as speeches and stand-up comedy routines but these are only things that will have been written and prepared beforehand.
Toni put in a few jokes to make her speech more entertaining.
Sam put in a subtle hint about the surprise ending that he knew the audience would appreciate.
FORGOTTEN YOUR PASSWORD?
I don't know about you, but I have so many different passwords and usernames for online accounts that I just cannot remember them all. If my devices didn't remember them for me, I would spend most of my day requesting new passwords for the ones that I had forgotten.
The reason that I am telling you this is because we frequently say 'put in' as a synonym of 'enter' when talking about usernames and passwords for online accounts.
Put in your username and password and click continue.
I put in my old password three times and I've blocked my account!
MEANING 4: To spend time doing something
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To do, to spend, to make an effort |
Separable? | Yes |
If you ever work hard on a particular task or project and you spend a lot of time on it, then you will definitely be able to use this next application of 'put in' as it means 'to spend time doing something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To give you a personal reference of this application, I can talk about writing this blog. First of all, I have to make notes on a specific phrasal verb and all of the different ways that it is used and then I have to decide which details to put in and which to leave out. Once that has been done, I create it, write it, proofread it, edit it, proofread it again, optimise it for SEO, publish it and promote it. Consequently, I can say that I put a lot of time in to create this blog!
As you will have hopefully understood, if you put in time doing something, you spend time doing it and we tend to use this in this way when the person spends a lot of time on the activity. Since we are talking about time, typical nouns that are used with this application are hours, days, months and even years.
Beth put in a lot of hours preparing for the exam.
They put in years of hard work to build their business.
I’ve already put in so much time on this project; I can’t quit now.
We do not use this application just to talk about time however and it can also be used for any activity where people work hard. Therefore, it is often used with nouns like effort, work and energy. I could therefore equally say that I put a lot of time, effort and energy in when writing the blog. It is also even possible to put in shifts at work to mean to work shifts.
We need to put in more practice if we want to win the championship.
The sales team put in an incredible amount of energy to meet the deadline.
Lucy is willing to put in whatever it takes to succeed.
Ben put in extra shifts to save money for his trip.
You can tell how much work Elaine put in by the quality of the final product.
They put in the effort, and it really paid off in the end.
Franco really put in the effort to make the presentation perfect.
MEANING 5: To request or apply for something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere with some uses British |
Potential synonyms | To request, to apply, to submit, to present |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next application of 'put in' is one that is often used in more formal and business situations and means 'to request or apply for something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Most commonly, we use this application of 'put in' to talk about things that we want to do or have but in order to get them, we must follow a process, which normally has a decision at the end of it. There is no guarantee that the application will be successful, however.
For example, you can put in (submit) an application for a job or a promotion that you want to get, you can put in a request for some kind of change in your work organisation or you can put in a bid (an offer) at an auction for something that you want to buy.
Moreover, there are some other nouns that we use this application with that do not require a decision to be made such as complaint and order. These will still require an element of processing though.
I put in an application for the marketing position last week.
Jonny put in a request for time off next month.
They put in a bid for the new construction project.
Sam has put in an offer on a house that she wants to buy and she is waiting for a response.
We’ve decided to put in a formal complaint about the noise.
I put in an order for that new book you recommended.
Put in your orders before midday today as that is the cut-off point.
In addition, it is also possible to use the construction 'to put in for + noun' to specify the thing that you want to get, such as a place at university, a promotion or a pay increase. You can even go one step further and use this construction separably by stating the direct object in between 'put' and 'in'.
Keisha is planning to put in for a transfer to the New York office.
Have you put in for a promotion yet?
My daughter has put in for a place at Harvard University but we don't know if she has got it yet.
We have put an application in for an extension to our house.
MEANING 6: To add to a conversation
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere, more British |
Potential synonyms | To interrupt, to interpose, to interject, to chime in, to butt in, to add |
Separable? | No |
I think that one of the rudest things that people can do in conversations is to interrupt others when they are speaking and this next application of 'put in' is one that we can use to describe this very action.
When someone puts in during a conversation, it means that they say something, interrupting the person who is already speaking and making them stop.
It is not always used to mean to interrupt someone though as it can also mean to add extra information to something that somebody else has said. For example, if someone says something interesting about a political situation in a conversation that you are having and you then say something to add some extra information to what the speaker said, we can use 'put in' to describe this.
This usage is quite formal and can be found in books and literature but it is not something that I hear very often in spoken everyday English.
Nick suddenly put in with a comment that changed the direction of the discussion.
Can I just put in here and say that I completely agree?
While we were arguing, Jack put in his opinion without being asked.
I was telling my story when Julie put in with a joke and threw me off.
Just as I was explaining, Adam put in, “That’s not how it happened!”
"I don't want to go either", John put in.
MEANING 7: To call at a port
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To call at, to dock in, to stop in |
Separable? | No |
You may remember from all the way back at the beginning of this post that I mentioned that one of the rarer meanings of the verb 'to put' is 'to travel in a boat'. This seventh and final application is derived directly from this meaning as it means 'to call at a port' and is used specifically for boats, ships and other waterborne vessels.
For this usage we often require the additional preposition 'at' to specify the name of the town, city or port where the dock is situated. This application is not separable however and should always be used in a non-separable way.
When a boat or ship puts in at a port, it enters the harbour area and stops at a berth where people or goods can be loaded or unloaded before it puts out to sea again (leaves the port).
The ship put in at the harbour just before the storm hit.
We put in at a small fishing village along the coast.
The vessel put in for repairs after days at sea.
They put in at Naples to refuel and restock supplies.
After a long journey, the yacht finally put in at the marina.
The captain decided to put in at the nearest port due to engine trouble.
We were supposed to sail straight through, but we had to put in at the nearest port unexpectedly.
COMMON IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS FEATURING 'PUT IN'
Let's finish the post with some well known idioms and expressions featuring the phrasal verb 'put in'. If you can use some of these in your English conversations, it will sound very impressive!
To put something in(to) perspective - To understand or view something more accurately, often by comparing it to something else, or by considering the bigger picture. This is often when you have a problem or issue and you want to understand if it is really very bad or if the problem is just in your head or not as bad as you think.
Sarah's calm advice helped me put my problems in perspective.
After hearing about Mike's struggles, my own issues seemed small in comparison; it really put things in perspective for me.
To put yourself in someone's place - This expression is used to talk about when you imagine how a situation feels from another person's point of view and how they would feel in a specific situation.
Try putting yourself in her place; how would you feel if that happened to you?
Before you judge me, put yourself in my place and consider what I've been through.
To put in a performance - This one is simply used as a synonym of giving a performance and can be used with theatre and singing shows, sports or even a business presentation. It is frequently used with qualitative adjectives like good, bad, wonderful etc.
Chelsea put in a fantastic performance and won the match 3–0.
Wendy put in a strong performance during the audition and impressed the judges.
To put in a good word for someone - Lastly, this is a great expression for when somebody intentionally praises or says positive things about you to another person to help you in some way. For example, if you want to ask someone out on a date, you could ask the person's friend to put in a good word for you beforehand so that he or she is more likely to say yes. Alternatively, if you put in for a job at a company where you already know someone who works there, you may ask that person to put in a good word for you with the hiring team to increase your chances of getting the job.
I’ll put in a good word for you with the manager; she trusts my opinion.
Could you put in a good word for me when you talk to the hiring team?
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'put in'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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THE END
I think this phrasal verb is easier than the ones we've seen so far. What I find difficult is knowing when a phrasal verb is separable and when it isn't.
please why don't you focus on somestimes on daily use phrasal verbs like look forward to, follow up, reach out, figure out and find out?