put by
verbEtymology From put + by.
1
To store, or place in reserve; to save (money, etc.) for later use.
- Our family has been putting food by for generations.
- I have put by a few hundred pounds for a rainy day.
2
To remove (something) from the present context and into its proper place; (figurative) to reject or disregard.
- When the lesson was finished, she put by her books and papers.
- For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl:c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 320:
2 more examples
- I refolded and put by his letter and the draft for the fifty pounds,1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC:
- When I came first to Caulds I sought to prevail upon him to accept the eldership, but he aye put me by, and when I heard his tale I saw that he had done wisely.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
3
To perform an action without attracting the attention of.
- I managed to put that transaction by accounts payable.
4
Of a ship: to be run aground intentionally to avoid a collision
- The Bow Spring put by to avoid colliding with the Manzanillo II.
- Synonyms
- save, put away, set aside, put aside, lay aside, lay by, lay up, accumulate, sneak past, get past