poner

From Latin pōnere, present active infinitive of pōnō.

poner

1. to put

• IPA^(key): /poˈner/

poner

1. to put

Inherited from Latin pōnere (whence English post and position), from Proto-Italic *pozinō. Compare Portuguese pôr and Romanian pune.

• IPA^(key): /poˈneɾ/ [poˈneɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: po‧ner

poner (first-person singular present pongo, first-person singular preterite puse, past participle puesto)

1. (transitive, reflexive or non-reflexive) to put, to put up, to place, to lay

   Synonyms: colocar, meter

   Antonym: quitar

   Pon eso en su lugar.

   Put that in its place.

   Pongamos el plan a la espera por ahora.

   Let's put the plan on hold for now.

   Puse un anuncio en Craigslist.

   I put up an ad on Craigslist.

2. (transitive) to set, to set up (e.g. set an alarm, set up chairs)

   Voy a poner la mesa

   I'm going to set the table.

3. (transitive) to put on (e.g. put on a smile, a happy face, a brave face; put on a pot of coffee, put something on display)
4. (transitive) to choose, to designate (for a job, charge or responsibility)

   Antonyms: quitar, deponer

5. (transitive) to make (e.g. make somebody nervous, jealous, sad, emotional, uncomfortable)

   Basta. Me estás poniendo nerviosa.

   Stop. You're making me nervous.

6. (transitive) to make, to give (in certain phrases; e.g. to make available, give an injection, to give effect)

   No pongas excusas.

   Don't make excuses.

   Permítanme poner un ejemplo.

   Let me give an example.

7. (transitive) to say, to read (statement: indicate in written form)

   Synonym: decir

   El letrero pone que está prohibido fumar.

   The sign says smoking is not allowed.

8. (transitive) to name, to give a nickname

   Synonyms: nombrar, bautizar, apodar

   Le voy a poner Rodrigo.

   I will name him Rodrigo.

9. (transitive) to bring (e.g. to bring online, to bring order to, to bring up to speed or date, to bring to light)
10. (transitive) to lay (e.g. to lay eggs, lay the foundation or groundwork)
11. (transitive) to turn, to turn on (e.g. to turn the other cheek, turn on music, to turn upside-down)

    Mi ex-esposa manipuladora puso a mis propios amigos en mi contra.

    My manipulative ex-wife turned my own friends against me.

12. (transitive) to get (in certain phrases)

    Necesitamos ponerlos de nuestra parte.

    We need to get them on our side.

    ¿No arranca su coche? En unos minutos, puedo ponerlo en marcha, sin problemas.

    Your car won't start? In a few minutes, I can get it running, no problem.

13. (transitive) to call (in certain phrases; e.g. to call into question, call into doubt, call somebody's bluff)
14. (transitive) to pay (attention)
15. (transitive) to draw (e.g. to draw a line or set up a boundary)
16. (transitive) to plant, to set up (e.g. plant one's feet, plant a bomb, set up explosives, plant a bug, set up a camera, plant a weapon)
17. (Mexico, slang, transitive) to contribute; to bring

    Synonyms: contribuir con, cooperar con, aportar, mocharse con

    Antonyms: quitar, retirar, negar

    Carlos pone la casa, yo pongo los refrescos.

    Carlos contributes his house, I contribute beverages.

18. (electronics) to play

    Ya se puso la canción en el radio dos veces.

    The song already played on the radio twice.

    Si Pedro pone la música demasiado fuerte, se va a quedar sordo.

    If Pedro plays music too loud, he will end up deaf.

19. (Spain, colloquial, transitive) to turn on, make horny

    Me pones mucho.

    You really turn me on.

20. (reflexive) to put on, to don, to change into (clothing, shoes, accoutrements)

    Me puse las gafas.

    I put on my glasses.

21. (reflexive) to get

    ¡Ponte pillo! / ¡Ponte listo!

    Get clever!

    ¡Ponte de rodillas!

    Get on your knees!

    No me gusta ponerme en frente de la cámara.

    I don't like getting in front of the camera.

22. (reflexive) (of a heavenly body) to set (i.e., to sink beneath the horizon)

    Synonym: meter

    Antonym: salir

    ¿A qué hora se pone el sol?

    What time does the sun set?

23. (reflexive) to become, to get ("become" is used in reference to entering into a physical or emotional state) (e.g. become anxious, fashionable, naughty, nervous, offensive, pale, sad, serious, stern, tense, ugly, violent, weird, etc.)

    Synonyms: hacerse, volverse, convertirse

    Se pone agresiva cuando alguien la toca.

    She gets aggressive when anyone touches her.

    Se puso muy enfermo después de comerse la comida descompuesta.

    He got very sick after eating the rotten food.

    El jamón se puso seco.

    The ham turned dry.

    Ponte guapa para la fiesta.

    Smarten up for the party.

24. (reflexive) to start doing something, to begin, to get down to (+ a + infinitive)

    Se sentaron a la mesa y se pusieron a hablar en voz alta.

    They sat down at the table and started talking loudly.

    Por lo tanto, es hora de ponernos a trabajar.

    So, it's time for us to get down to work.

    Se puso a decirnos de las cosas que había visto.

    He began telling us about the things he had seen.

    Me pondré con ello inmediatamente.

    I'll get on it right away.

25. (reflexive) to put oneself

    No te pongas en peligro.

    Do not put yourself in harm's way.

• ponerse in the sense of to become is used to indicate changes in physical condition, appearance, or mood (voluntary or involuntary) which are usually short-lived.
• The form of ponerse a is followed by an infinitive verb form.

• ponerle
• ponerse

• “poner”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28