1 B2 idiomatic neutral
To decide to stop being affected by a negative past experience and focus on the future.
"After the divorce, it took her years to truly put it behind her and start enjoying life again."
separable
put behind one
B2 neutral separable transitive
To deliberately stop letting a negative past experience affect you and decide to move forward with your life.
In plain English
To stop thinking or worrying about something bad that happened in the past.
What does "put behind one" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To place something in a position behind yourself, so you no longer face it.
Actually means
To stop thinking or worrying about something bad that happened in the past.
Usage tip
Always used with a reflexive-style structure: 'put X behind you/me/him.' The object is typically a bad experience, failure, loss, or difficult period. Common in motivational and therapeutic contexts.
Words that pair with "put behind one"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
past experience failure loss grief mistakes
How to conjugate "put behind one"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
put behind one
I/you/we/they
3rd person
puts behind one
he/she/it
Past simple
put behind one
yesterday
Past participle
put behind one
have + pp
-ing form
putting behind one
continuous
Hear "put behind one" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "put behind one" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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