putaway

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablesportinformal

   In basketball, a shot made close to the basket that is hard to miss, often after a pass.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a putaway' or 'two putaways'.

   Patterns

   • score a putaway
   • miss a putaway

   She caught the pass in the paint and scored an easy putaway.

   The forward missed two putaways in the final minute.

2. 2noununcountable

   The act of putting something in its proper place, or the place where it is kept.

   Grammar: Uncountable in this sense: 'the putaway of equipment'.

   Patterns

   • the putaway of something

   The putaway of the tools takes longer than the job itself.

   We finished the putaway of the dishes before the guests arrived.

3. 3noununcountableold-fashionedinformal

   A period of being kept in a prison or a psychiatric hospital.

   Grammar: Uncountable and rather old-fashioned; often used with 'in'.

   Patterns

   • be in putaway
   • send someone to putaway

   The judge sent him to putaway for ten years.

   After the trial, she faced years of putaway.

Word forms

Common combinations

easy putaway

He scored an easy putaway after the defender fell.

miss a putaway

The rookie missed a putaway that would have tied the game.

putaway shot

Her putaway shot was the highlight of the quarter.

the putaway of goods

The putaway of goods in the warehouse is done by machine.

Synonyms and how they differ

layup

A layup is a specific type of close shot, while a putaway is any easy close shot, often after a pass.

tap-in

A tap-in is used mostly in soccer for a simple close-range goal; putaway is the basketball term.

storage

Storage means keeping things in a place; putaway focuses on the act of putting them there.

Word family

put away phrasal verb

To put something in its proper place, or to send someone to prison.

Commonly confused: putaway or put away?

Practice

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