put out to pasture
Send off permanently
Put out to pasture literally means to release livestock, especially horses or cattle, into a field to graze, typically when they're no longer useful for work.
The phrase is far more common in its figurative sense: to retire someone or remove them from active duty, often implying they've become too old or outdated to contribute meaningfully.
After thirty years, the company put him out to pasture with a modest pension.
The expression can carry a dismissive or patronizing tone, suggesting the person has outlived their usefulness.
retirement
Leaving the workforce permanently
- pensionRetiree's ongoing benefit
- golden yearsLater life stage
- superannuationRetirement savings scheme
elderly · senior · veteran · emeritus · farewell · sendoff · twilight · sunset · career · tenure
bench
Shared seating surface
- reserveSupply kept back
- marginalizeTreat as insignificant
- demoteLower someone's position
relegate · displace · supplant · bypass · overlook · shelve · mothball · obsolete · outdated · redundant
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
- outdatedobsolete, outdated, out of date, dated, outmoded
- retirementretirement, retire, retirement age, retirees, retirement income
- Horse Idiomshold your horses, dark horse, high horse, straight from the horse's mouth, horse sense
put out to pastureput to work
Cause to labor
deploy · utilize · press into service · make use of · leverage
put out to pasturerevitalize
Restore strength and vitality
rejuvenate · rehabilitate · restore · reinvigorate · modernize
puts, putting, putter, outer, outs, outward, outermost, pasture, pastures