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Put up meaning

Put up means to fix something to a wall, or raise something higher. It can also mean to make a price, a rent or a tax higher.

Check yourself: 3 questionsAll 11 phrasal verbs with put

put something up

put up · put · putting

B1Separable+3 more meanings

We put up some photos in the hall.

Put up meanings and examples

4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.

  1. 1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
  2. 2make a price, a rent or a tax higher
  3. 3build something, like a tent, a fence or a building
  4. 4let someone stay in your home for a short time
  1. 1

    Fix something to a wall, or raise something higher

    put something up

    B1Separable

    • We put up some photos in the hall.
    • Put your hand up if you know the answer.
    • The poster’s ready. Can you put it up?
  2. 2

    Make a price, a rent or a tax higher

    put something up

    B1Separable

    • The landlord put up the rent again.
    • Shops often put their prices up in January.
    • They haven’t put up the bus fares this year.
  3. 3

    Build something, like a tent, a fence or a building

    put somebody or something up

    B2Separable

    • It took us an hour to put up the tent.
    • They’re putting up a new fence next door.
    • The city put up a statue of her in 2019.
  4. 4

    Let someone stay in your home for a short time

    put somebody up

    B2Separable

    • Can you put me up for a night?
    • My cousin put us up in Berlin.
    • We can’t put up five people in this tiny flat.
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Is put up separable?

Put up is separable: put up a poster, put a poster up. With a pronoun, it goes in the middle: put it up.

Put up with, with an extra with, is a different phrasal verb. It means accept something annoying: I put up with the noise.

Verb tenses for put up

PresentI put up · she puts up
Pastput up
Present perfecthave put up
-ing formputting up

Common mistakes with put up

What learners often say, and what to say instead.

  • Wrong: I’ve got a new picture. Help me put up it.

    Right: I’ve got a new picture. Help me put it up.

    A pronoun goes between put and up.

  • Wrong: They put up the prices with 10%.

    Right: They put up the prices by 10%.

    Use by for the amount of a change.

  • Wrong: Raise up your hand if you agree.

    Right: Put up your hand if you agree.

    Raise already means move up. Say raise your hand or put your hand up.

Synonyms and opposites of put up

Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.

Similar

Opposite

Put up quiz

Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

  1. 1Can you help me ___ these shelves?

  2. 2Choose the right sentence.

  3. 3The hotels were full, so my friend ___ for the night.

More phrasal verbs with put

All phrasal verbs with put, by level, with an exercise

11 phrasal verbs start with put. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.

Test yourself on putTake the full test

Put up FAQ

Questions people ask about put up.

What does put up a fight mean?

It means fight hard or try hard not to lose: The cat put up a real fight at the vet’s.

What does put something up for sale mean?

It means offer it to be sold: They put their house up for sale in May.

Is put up British or American?

Put up prices is mostly British; American English usually says raise prices. The other meanings are used everywhere.

Use put up in real conversations

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