Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

put down to

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.45 in modern English

Syllables: put -down -to
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To ascribe; to assume to be the cause of a situation.

Example Sentences

"I put the high crime rate down to the high unemployment."
"Collins' death can be put down to his devil-may-care attitude—his decision to journey through hostile territory in a large convoy, the inadequate choice of the members of the convoy, and the tactics he adopted in the ambush. For all the debate about ballistics and entry and exit wounds, and the use of powerful historical imaginations, it matters more that Collins was killed than how he was killed. Concentration on the events at Béal na mBláth has, moreover, often meant a failure to place them in the overall context of the war."
"Out in the ground, meanwhile, it was particularly disappointing to hear former England captain Andrew Strauss put the febrile atmosphere down to “people who don’t normally come to Lord’s”."

Inflected Forms

puts down to (present, singular) putting down to (participle, present)

Synonyms

attribute chalk up to impute accredit ascribe attach charge draw lay put down to repose

Questions

What does put down to mean?: To ascribe; to assume to be the cause of a situation.

How to pronounce put down to

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “put down to”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “put down to”.
Repeat and practice — Say “put down to” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.