put oneself about

put oneself about

English

Verb

put oneself about

1. (informal) To be sexually promiscuous.
   • 2009, Neville Phillips, Smack a Trifle!: Odd Quirks in Prose and Rhyme (page 3)

     Marlene liked to put herself about. She had been known to bestow her favours on allied servicemen in four different war zones on the same night.

2. To make oneself visible or noticeable in a place; to make an appearance.
   • 2012, Elizabeth Waite, Time Will Tell

     Only this morning, before Stan had picked him up to go to work, Matt had yelled that she didn't put herself about enough and didn't mix with his family as much as she should.

3. (archaic) To make a special effort; to exert oneself, or go out of one's way.

   Synonyms: go out of one's way, put oneself out, put oneself out of the way

   • 1883, William Meynell Whittemore, Sunshine (page 18)

     And Esther put herself about to amuse him, showing him photograph-books and views of various sorts, adding a question or two from time to time, to find out how much he knew, and how well he had been taught.

Related terms

• put about
• put it about