To put up means to construct or build something, often temporarily. Workers might put up scaffolding around a building under repair, or you might help your family put up a fence in the backyard. Communities put up holiday decorations each December, then take them down in January.

The phrase also means to provide lodging for someone. When relatives visit from out of town, your family might put them up for the weekend, giving them a place to sleep and making them feel welcome. Hotels put up travelers every night.

Put up can also mean to tolerate or endure something difficult or annoying. If your little brother keeps interrupting your homework, you might put up with it for a while before finally asking him to stop. A teacher might put up with minor disruptions but draw the line at serious misbehavior. When you put up with something, you're choosing not to complain or fight back, at least for now.

In older usage, people would put up food by canning or preserving it for winter. Your great-grandmother might have put up jars of tomatoes and peaches each summer, storing them in the cellar to eat during the cold months when fresh produce was scarce.