Meaning & use
put your feet up
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
To relax and rest, usually sitting down with your legs raised, especially after working hard.
Grammar: Your changes with the subject: she put her feet up.
Patterns
- put your feet up and do something
After the long shift, I just want to put my feet up and watch a film.
Sit down and put your feet up while I make some tea.
Grandpa finally retired and now puts his feet up every afternoon.
Word forms
| third person singular | puts your feet up |
|---|---|
| past tense | put your feet up |
| -ing form | putting your feet up |
Common combinations
- put your feet up and relax
- Come home, put your feet up and relax.
- finally put your feet up
- I can finally put my feet up after finishing the report.
- time to put your feet up
- It's time to put your feet up.
- put your feet up for a while
- Put your feet up for a while; the dishes can wait.
Synonyms and how they differ
- relax
- It is the general word and works anywhere, while put your feet up pictures a seated rest at home.
- take it easy
- It can mean working less all day, while put your feet up is a short rest.
- unwind
- It stresses getting rid of stress, whereas put your feet up stresses physical rest.
- kick back
- It is American and even more casual.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: put your feet up or put your foot down?
put your feet up vs put your foot down
To put your foot down means to insist firmly on something, which is the opposite of resting.
Practice
After the house guests left, Rosa sat on the sofa to ___ at last.
Choose one answer.
To rest and relax is to put your feet up. Put her foot down means to be firm, which does not describe resting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “put your feet up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.