Meaning & use
putting to work
Last updated
“putting to work” is a form of “put to work”.
Meanings
phraseidiom
the act of starting to use something, such as a tool, skill, or resource, for a useful purpose.
Grammar: This -ing form works as a noun phrase; the base form is 'put to work'. It often comes after a preposition or as the subject of a sentence.
Patterns
- putting something to work
- putting someone to work
Putting the new computer system to work took several weeks of training.
She is putting her knowledge of Spanish to work in her new job.
The charity is putting the donated money to work by building schools.
phraseidiom
the act of giving someone a job or task to do.
Grammar: Often used with people as the object: putting the interns to work. The base form is 'put someone to work'.
Patterns
- putting someone to work
- putting people to work
The manager is putting the new staff to work on the project immediately.
Putting prisoners to work has been a controversial policy.
By putting the volunteers to work, we finished the cleanup in one day.
Common combinations
- putting something to work
- We are putting the latest software to work in our design team.
- putting someone to work
- The coach is putting the players to work on their fitness.
- putting money to work
- Investors are putting their money to work in green energy.
- putting skills to work
- After graduation, he looked forward to putting his skills to work.
- putting resources to work
- The government is putting more resources to work in rural areas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- employing
- Often used for using tools or methods, but can also mean giving someone a job; 'putting to work' is more informal and direct.
- utilizing
- More formal and technical, focusing on making practical use of something; 'putting to work' sounds more active and hands-on.
- applying
- Suggests bringing something into contact or use, like applying a rule; 'putting to work' emphasizes starting a process or task.
Opposites
Word family
- put to work phrase
- The base form meaning to start using something or someone for a purpose.
Commonly confused: putting to work or put to sleep?
putting to work vs put to sleep
This means to kill an animal humanely or to make someone unconscious; it is not about work. Do not mix them up.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'putting to work' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct pattern is 'put something to work', so 'putting her new skills to work' is right. Option 2 has wrong word order, option 3 misses 'to', and option 4 uses 'to working' instead of 'to work'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “putting to work”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.