See put the pedal to the metal in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "First use appears c. 1976. Originated in car racing.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "puts the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "putting the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "put the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "put the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "put pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<,,put>"
},
"expansion": "put the pedal to the metal (third-person singular simple present puts the pedal to the metal, present participle putting the pedal to the metal, simple past and past participle put the pedal to the metal)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "65 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "70 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English predicates",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "63 37",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "64 36",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "46 54",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "46 54",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "90 10",
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Automotive",
"orig": "en:Automotive",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "give it the gun"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
97,
123
]
],
"ref": "2013, Loyd E. Hill, Marvin R. Query, Reap the Wild Seeds, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 74:",
"text": "I released the brakes, smashed the clutch and switched the transmission case into low gear, then put the pedal to the metal again throwing the car into what is known as a “moonshine spin”.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To press the gas pedal to the maximum extent."
],
"id": "en-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal-en-verb-z-4tD73c",
"links": [
[
"gas pedal",
"gas pedal"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To press the gas pedal to the maximum extent."
],
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"word": "pedal to the metal"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"word": "balls to the wall"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "floor it"
},
{
"word": "redline"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"lang_code": "da",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "sparke sømmet i bund"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "mettre le pied au plancher"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "mettre les gaz"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "Vollgas geben"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "wciskać gaz do dechy"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wcisnąć gaz do dechy"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"alt": "газа (gaza)",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "v",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "утопить педаль в пол"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "datʹ gazu",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "дать газу"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "podnažatʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "поднажать"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "pritopitʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "притопить"
},
{
"_dis1": "70 30",
"alt": "на полную (na polnuju)",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "vtopitʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "втопить"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "41 59",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "45 55",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Danish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "46 54",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "46 54",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
46,
72
]
],
"ref": "2007, Donna Carter, 10 Smart Things Women Can Do to Build a Better Life, Harvest House Publishers, →ISBN, page 22:",
"text": "There are times for all of us when we have to put the pedal to the metal. Businesspeople and students have deadlines. Parents have periods of time when they don't get breaks because their partners are unavailable or they have no partners.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To exert maximum effort."
],
"id": "en-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal-en-verb-cDjjAOCw",
"links": [
[
"exert",
"exert"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(by extension) To exert maximum effort."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "go all out"
}
],
"tags": [
"broadly"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-put the pedal to the metal.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/54/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg"
}
],
"word": "put the pedal to the metal"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English rhyming phrases",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"en:Automotive"
],
"etymology_text": "First use appears c. 1976. Originated in car racing.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "puts the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "putting the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "put the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "put the pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "put pedal to the metal",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<,,put>"
},
"expansion": "put the pedal to the metal (third-person singular simple present puts the pedal to the metal, present participle putting the pedal to the metal, simple past and past participle put the pedal to the metal)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "pedal to the metal"
},
{
"word": "balls to the wall"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "give it the gun"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
97,
123
]
],
"ref": "2013, Loyd E. Hill, Marvin R. Query, Reap the Wild Seeds, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 74:",
"text": "I released the brakes, smashed the clutch and switched the transmission case into low gear, then put the pedal to the metal again throwing the car into what is known as a “moonshine spin”.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To press the gas pedal to the maximum extent."
],
"links": [
[
"gas pedal",
"gas pedal"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To press the gas pedal to the maximum extent."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "floor it"
},
{
"word": "redline"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
46,
72
]
],
"ref": "2007, Donna Carter, 10 Smart Things Women Can Do to Build a Better Life, Harvest House Publishers, →ISBN, page 22:",
"text": "There are times for all of us when we have to put the pedal to the metal. Businesspeople and students have deadlines. Parents have periods of time when they don't get breaks because their partners are unavailable or they have no partners.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To exert maximum effort."
],
"links": [
[
"exert",
"exert"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(by extension) To exert maximum effort."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "go all out"
}
],
"tags": [
"broadly"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-put the pedal to the metal.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/54/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/En-au-put_the_pedal_to_the_metal.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"lang_code": "da",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "sparke sømmet i bund"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "mettre le pied au plancher"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "mettre les gaz"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "Vollgas geben"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "wciskać gaz do dechy"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wcisnąć gaz do dechy"
},
{
"alt": "газа (gaza)",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "v",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "утопить педаль в пол"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "datʹ gazu",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "дать газу"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "podnažatʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "поднажать"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "pritopitʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "притопить"
},
{
"alt": "на полную (na polnuju)",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "vtopitʹ",
"sense": "make a rapid acceleration",
"word": "втопить"
}
],
"word": "put the pedal to the metal"
}
Download raw JSONL data for put the pedal to the metal meaning in English (4.6kB)
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/2013",
"msg": "more than one value in \"roman\": pol vs. utopitʹ",
"path": [
"put the pedal to the metal"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "put the pedal to the metal",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/2013",
"msg": "more than one value in \"roman\": utopitʹ vs. pedalʹ",
"path": [
"put the pedal to the metal"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "put the pedal to the metal",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/2013",
"msg": "more than one value in \"roman\": pedalʹ vs. v",
"path": [
"put the pedal to the metal"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "put the pedal to the metal",
"trace": ""
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (d1270d2 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.