put on — wear
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcore
to dress yourself in a piece of clothing
Say it like a native
Textbook Kindly don your jacket; it is cold outside.
Native Put your jacket on, it's cold out.
'Put on' is the everyday verb for getting dressed; 'don' is archaic/literary.
Pattern: put on something / put something on
In use
- Put on a jacket, it's cold outside.daily life
- On a normal morning I just put on whatever is comfortable and head to work.IELTS Part 1
Common mistake
✗ I'm wearing my shoes, give me a second.
✓ I'm putting my shoes on, give me a second.
'Put on' = the action of dressing; 'wear' = the state of having it on. You put on a coat, then you wear it.
Common collocations
put on + clothing— a coat, your shoes, a jumper, make-up
Don't confuse it
The action of dressing, not the long-term state (wear).
Related
- put on (gain weight) — Same phrasal verb; this one is about clothes, the other about weight.