Put back means to return something to the place where it was, and also to move an event to a later time. The second meaning is especially common in British English: The match was put back a week.
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put + noun + back (in its place); put it back; put back + event (to a later time)
- Please put the scissors back in the drawer when you've finished with them.
- The concert has been put back to next Saturday because the singer is ill.
What changed
First versionPlease return the dictionary on the shelf when you finish.
RevisionPlease put the dictionary back on the shelf when you finish.
Return on the shelf is wrong: return needs the preposition to, and even return to the shelf sounds formal. Return may look like the obvious verb for bringing something back, but in everyday speech you put something back: put the dictionary back on the shelf.
Put back and put off both mean moving something to later. Put back is usually used about a scheduled event moved to another date: The launch was put back to May. Put off often means delaying a task you don't want to do: I keep putting off calling the dentist. The opposite is bring forward, to move something to an earlier time.
Your turn
The flight was delayed, so we ___ the meeting from ten to twelve.
Show the answer
put back — The meeting was moved to a later time, from ten to twelve, so put back. Brought forward means to move something to an earlier time, and with a delayed flight an earlier meeting is impossible.
Write about a meeting or event that was moved to a later date. Say when it was moved to and why.
Our team dinner was put back to next Friday because half of the team were away at a conference.
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