put up with

You use put up with when facing something unpleasant. This could be a person, a noise, or a general situation. It's a verb phrase, so it needs a subject and an object. You can put up with someone's bad habits. You can put up with a lot of noise from neighbors. You can even put up with yourself sometimes! The structure is usually Subject + put up with + Noun/Gerund. For example, 'I can't put up with this traffic anymore.' Or, 'She had to put up with his constant whistling.' It’s versatile for many annoying things.

• My upstairs neighbors play loud music every night. I have to put up with it because I can't move.
• This old laptop is so slow. I'm trying to put up with it until I can afford a new one.
• The coffee shop was packed, but the barista was friendly, so I didn't mind put up with the long wait.
• He's really grumpy in the mornings, but I put up with it because he's a good friend later.
• My boss keeps changing deadlines. It's frustrating, but I have to put up with it for now.

Use put up with when you're showing resilience. You're dealing with something bothersome. Maybe your train is delayed again. You put up with the delay. Or your colleague chews loudly. You put up with the noise. It's for those moments you choose endurance over confrontation. It’s perfect for everyday frustrations. Think of minor irritations, not major crises. It fits when you're trying to be polite or just can't change things. It’s like accepting the weather, even if it’s raining.

Don't use put up with for things you absolutely shouldn't tolerate. This includes abuse, harassment, or anything illegal. There’s a difference between annoyance and harm. You should never put up with being treated badly. In those cases, you need to speak out or get help. Also, avoid it if you have the power to easily fix the problem. If your printer is jammed, you fix it, you don't put up with it. And don't use it for things you actually enjoy! That would be super weird.

Learners sometimes mix up put up with with similar-sounding phrases. Or they use put up alone. Put up can mean to build something or to stay somewhere. It doesn't mean tolerate.

• ✗ I can't put up his singing. → ✓ I can't put up with his singing.
• ✗ I have to put over the bad smell. → ✓ I have to put up with the bad smell.
• ✗ She put up the difficult situation. → ✓ She put up with the difficult situation.

These mistakes change the meaning completely. Stick to put up with for tolerance!

• Tolerate: This is a more formal synonym. 'I tolerate his jokes.'
• Endure: This implies bearing something difficult for a long time. 'She endured years of hardship.'
• Bear: Similar to endure, often used for pain or hardship. 'He bore the criticism bravely.'
• Stand: This is more informal, like put up with. 'I can't stand his attitude.'
• Suffer: This suggests experiencing pain or distress. 'He suffered through the long meeting.'

Put up with is generally more common in everyday speech than tolerate or endure.

Sometimes, people shorten it in very informal speech. You might hear someone say, 'I can't stand it!' instead of put up with it. Or they might just use tolerate. But put up with is the standard phrase. You can also use put up with followed by a gerund (verb ending in -ing). For example: 'I'm tired of put up with waiting.' Or 'She's sick of put up with his excuses.' This works perfectly well.