put the moves on

English

Alternative forms

• put the make on

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

put the moves on (third-person singular simple present puts the moves on, present participle putting the moves on, simple past and past participle put the moves on)

1. (idiomatic) To make an effort to gain someone's romantic or sexual interest; to try to woo or seduce.

   Leo tried putting the moves on Dawn at the New Year's party.

Usage notes

• "The moves" can be replaced by other noun phrases headed by "moves", such "his best moves", "a move", "moves", and many more.

Synonyms

• (to gain someone's romantic interest): court, make love, romance; see also Thesaurus:woo