put forth

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English

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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put forth (third-person singular simple present puts forth, present participle putting forth, simple past and past participle put forth)

  1. (transitive) To give or supply; to make or create (implies trying or striving).
    to put forth an effort
    • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. [], London: [] J[acob] Tonson, [], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 3:
      Now, Marcus, now, thy Virtue’s on the Proof: / Put forth thy utmost Strength, work ev’ry Nerve, / And call up all thy Father in thy Soul:
    • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 16, in Emma: [], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: [] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:
      “Oh! when a gallant young man, like Mr. Frank Churchill,” said Mr. Knightley dryly, “writes to a fair lady like Miss Woodhouse, he will, of course, put forth his best.”
    • 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 8, in Ruth[1]:
      He could not move as quickly as most men, but he put forth his utmost speed.
    • 1950, Josephine Tey, chapter 4, in To Love and Be Wise[2], New York: Pocket Book, published 1977, page 36:
      But his actor’s need to be liked was stronger than his resentment, and he was putting forth all his charm in an effort to win over this so-unexpected antagonist.
  2. (transitive) To extend forward (a body part or something held).
  3. (transitive) To advance, offer, propose (often verbally).
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To send (someone) out, remove (someone) from a place.
  5. (transitive) To emit, send out, give off (light, odour, etc.).
  6. (transitive, intransitive) To grow, shoot, bud, or germinate.
    • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
      [] her hedges even-pleach’d, / Like prisoners wildly overgrown with hair, / Put forth disorder’d twigs;
    • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “VI. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. [], 3rd edition, London: [] William Rawley []; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee [], →OCLC, page 137:
      [] [t]ake from vnder Walls, or the like, where Nettles put forth in abundance, the Earth which you shall there finde []
    • 1950, C. S. Lewis, chapter 11, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe[8], New York: Macmillan:
      Soon the beech trees had put forth their delicate, transparent leaves.
  7. (transitive, intransitive) (of a ship) To leave (a port or haven).

Usage notes

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In contemporary English, put forth is generally used in more formal or literary contexts.

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Anagrams

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