put about

verb

put about; putting about; puts about
Synonyms of put aboutnext

transitive verb

of a ship : to cause to change course or direction

intransitive verb

of a ship : to change course or direction : go on another tack

Examples of put about in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
China added power to its grid at roughly eight times the US pace in 2025, putting about $500 billion into energy buildout in a single year. — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 It was painted by San Jose artist Cindy Duong, who put about 100 hours into it, stretched over eight weeks. — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2026 So these other measures that are being put about by the secretary of agriculture and other members of the administration to lower beef prices are really irrelevant to what the market price of beef will be over the next four months. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 The large rocket appears to be close to reaching operational status, with the ability to put about 100 metric tons into low-Earth orbit. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for put about

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of put about was in 1607

Rhymes for put about

See All Rhymes for put about

Browse Nearby Words

put
put about
put a check on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Put about.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20about. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

put about

verb
: to change course or direction
after sailing north, they put about and headed east

More from Merriam-Webster on put about

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for put about

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of torpor

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All