phrasal verb · formal
put to shame
UK/pʊt tuː ʃeɪm/US/pʊt tu ʃeɪm/put·to·SHAME
speakingtask2
to embarrass someone or to show that someone/something is much better than another
Examples
“Her performance put seasoned professionals to shame.”
“The children's effort put the adults to shame.”
“Their latest innovation puts competing products to shame.”
Band 8 sentence
“The local team's disciplined tactics put their more experienced rivals to shame in yesterday's match.”
Collocations
- put someone to shame
- put to shame the competition
Word family
put to shame phrasal verb
Common mistakes
make someone shame→put to shame
be ashamed of→be put to shame / put someone to shame
Say it for a higher band
5embarrass→6outshine→7+put to shame
Synonyms
embarrass
outshine
Easily confused
embarrass
“His rude comment embarrassed her.”
Related words
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In put …
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