put down — euthanize an animal
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
To kill an animal painlessly, usually because it is very ill or suffering, often as a humane decision.
Say it like a native
Textbook The veterinarian administered euthanasia to the elderly dog.
Native We had to have the old dog put down.
'Put down' is the gentle everyday term for euthanising a pet; 'administer euthanasia' is clinical.
Pattern: put down + animal
In use
- After years of illness, they finally had to put their dog down.animals
- Some people argue that it is more humane to put down animals that are in severe pain rather than prolonging their suffering.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ We had to put down our dog to sleep.
✓ We had to have our dog put down. / ...put to sleep.
Don't blend the two idioms — it's 'put down' OR 'put to sleep', not 'put down to sleep'.
Common collocations
have/put + animal + down— the dog put down, the cat down, a horse down, humanely
Don't confuse it
This sense is unrelated to placing objects on surfaces (B1) or criticizing someone (B2). Here, it refers specifically to ending an animal's life humanely.
Related
- put down (to place something on a surface) — 'put down' also has the more basic meaning 'to place something on a surface'; this is the advanced sense.