put away

What does "put away" mean?

1. To return something to its proper place
2. To save money for future use
3. To eat a large amount of food (informal)
4. To imprison someone (informal)

Examples

• Please put away your toys before dinner.
• We try to put away some money every month for emergencies.
• He can really put away a lot of food at dinner.
• The criminal was put away for ten years.
• Put away your phone and pay attention in class.

How to use it

Very common in household contexts. 'Put away money' is a common expression for saving.

Word order

Separable: 'put something away' or 'put away something'

Similar expressions

Opposites

Related phrasal verbs

• put on

  To place clothing or accessories on your body

• put off

  To postpone or delay something

• put up

  To build or erect something

• put down

  To place something on a surface

• put together

  To assemble something from separate parts

• put out

  To extinguish a fire or cigarette