Word.ws English Dictionary

putting a name to

putting a name to is the present participle and gerund of put a name to.

Meaning of put a name to

Verb

put a name to (third-person singular simple present puts a name to, present participle putting a name to, simple past and past participle put a name to)

  1. To attribute a person's name to (their face, voice, photo, etc.).
    • “I can’t put a name to you—but I’m sure I’ve met you—I’ve met everybody, here, or in Paris or London. Aren’t you in diplomacy? […]”1920, Edith Wharton, chapter 9, in The Age of Innocence, New York: D. Appleton, page 77
  2. To name or identify (something).
    • “give your orders, you two gentlemen, and you’re welcome to whatever you put a name to.”1853, Charles Dickens, chapter 33, in Bleak House, London: Chapman & Hall, page 367
  3. To identify the author of (a publication or other writing).
    • I had otherwise interpreted this phrase, had he put a name to his book1658, Jeremiah Ives, Confidence Encountred, London, p. 11, footnote

Questions about putting a name to

What is putting a name to the present participle and gerund of?
Putting a name to is the present participle and gerund of put a name to.

Words near putting a name to in the dictionary

  1. putting a gun to someone's head
  2. putting a hat on a hat
  3. putting a hurt on
  4. putting a lid on
  5. putting a lid on it
  6. putting a name to
  7. putting a pin in
  8. putting a premium on
  9. putting a shift in
  10. putting a slight on
  11. putting a slight upon

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: putting a name to (page history and authors); put a name to (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “putting a name to.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/putting_a_name_to. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.