do

1 of 6

verb

ˈdü

did ˈdid

dəd

; done ˈdən

; doing ˈdü-iŋ

; does ˈdəz

Synonyms of do next

transitive verb

: to bring to pass : carry out

do another's wishes

it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence … and if I can learn what it is I will do it—

Abraham Lincoln

: put

—used chiefly in do to death

had been hounded down and done to death as heretics—

Stringfellow Barr

: perform, execute

do some work

did his duty

: commit

crimes done deliberately

: bring about, effect

trying to do good

do violence

: to give freely : pay

do honor to her memory

: to bring to an end : finish

—used in the past participle

The job is finally done.

: to put forth : exert

did her best to win the race

: to wear out especially by physical exertion : exhaust

At the end of the race they were pretty well done.

: to attack physically : beat

also : kill

: to bring into existence : produce

do a biography on the general

has done some beautiful landscapes

—used as a substitute verb especially to avoid repetition

If you must make such a racket, do it somewhere else.

: to play the role or character of

He did Hamlet on Broadway.

: mimic

also : to behave like

do a Houdini and disappear

: to perform in or serve as producer of

do a play

: to treat unfairly

especially : cheat

did him out of his inheritance

: to treat or deal with in any way typically with the sense of preparation or with that of care or attention:

a(1)

: to put in order : clean

was doing the kitchen

(2)

: wash

did the dishes after supper

: to prepare for use or consumption

especially : cook

like my steak done rare

: set, arrange

had her hair done

: to apply cosmetics to

wanted to do her face before the party

: decorate, furnish

did the living room in Early American

do over the kitchen

: to be engaged in the study or practice of

do science

especially : to work at as a vocation

what to do after college

: to pass over : traverse

did 20 miles yesterday

: to travel at a speed of

doing 55 on the turnpike

: tour

doing 12 countries in 30 days

: to spend (time) in prison

has been doing time in a federal penitentiary

: to serve out (a period of imprisonment)

did ten years for armed robbery

: to serve the needs of : suit, suffice

worms will do us for bait

: to approve especially by custom, opinion, or propriety

You oughtn't to say a thing like that … it's not done.—

Dorothy Sayers

: to treat with respect to physical comforts

did themselves well

: use sense 4

doesn't do drugs

: to have sexual intercourse with

I'd do him.

: to partake of

Let's do lunch.

intransitive verb

: act, behave

do as I say

: get along, fare

do well in school

: to carry on business or affairs : manage

We can do without your help.

: to take place : happen

what's doing across the street

: to come to or make an end : finish

—used in the past participle

he had done with speech for that evening and gave us no reply—

Arnold Bennett

: to be active or busy

let us then be up and doing—

H. W. Longfellow

: to be adequate or sufficient : serve

half of that will do

: to be fitting : conform to custom or propriety

won't do to be late

—used as a substitute verb to avoid repetition

wanted to run and play as children do

—used especially in British English following a modal auxiliary or perfective have

a great many people had died, or would do—

Bruce Chatwin

—used in the imperative after an imperative to add emphasis

be quiet do

auxiliary verb

—used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in legal and parliamentary language

do hereby bequeath

and in poetry

give what she did crave—

Shakespeare

—used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in declarative sentences with inverted word order

fervently do we pray—

Abraham Lincoln

, in interrogative sentences

did you hear that?

, and in negative sentences

we don't know

don't go

—used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses expressing emphasis

I do say

do be careful

2 of 6

noun (1)

ˈdü

plural dos or do's ˈdüz

chiefly dialectal : fuss, ado

archaic : deed, duty

: a festive get-together : affair, party

an annual do

chiefly British : battle

: a command or entreaty to do something

a list of dos and don'ts

British : cheat, swindle

: hairdo

The wind messed up his do.

3 of 6

noun (2)

ˈdō

music : the first tone of the major scale in solfège

4 of 6

abbreviation or noun

ˌdē-ˈō

variants or D.O.

plural DOs or D.O.s

: doctor of osteopathic medicine

Jane Smith, D.O.

He earned a DO from Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Today, close to 120 osteopathic physicians—DOs—and about 2,050 MDs practice in Tucson, according to the [Pima] medical society.—

Jane Erikson

6 of 6

abbreviation (2)

defense order

Phrases

do a number on

: to defeat or confound thoroughly especially by indirect or deceptive means

The scandal did a number on his career.

do away with

: to put an end to : abolish

chose to do away with a number of positions

doing away with formalities

: to put to death : kill

do by

: to deal with : treat

They did pretty well by me when I retired.

do for

chiefly British

: to attend to the wants and needs of : take care of

: to bring about the death or ruin of

He will be done for.

do it

: to have sexual intercourse

do justice

: to act justly

: to treat fairly or adequately

The portrait doesn't do justice to her beauty.

: to show due appreciation for

: to acquit in a way worthy of one's abilities

do proud

: to give cause for pride or gratification

she did herself proud

do the trick

: to produce a desired result

do with

: to make good use of : benefit by

could do with a cup of coffee

to do

: necessary to be done

I've done my best and all's to do again—

A. E. Housman

Did you know?

Feasible and Doable

Feasible comes from faire, the French verb meaning “to do.” Doable and feasible therefore originally meant literally the same thing: “capable of being done.” Indeed, doable was formed with -able, the Latin-derived French ending meaning “capable of” combined, in this instance, with do, a word with roots in Old English and one of the most basic and useful of our verbs. Though their respective etymological meanings may overlap, doable and feasible exist more in parallel with each other than as true synonyms. As with most such pairs of words, the Latin-derived term is used when describing more abstract notions. The words most commonly modified by feasible include:

option

alternative

solution

plan

approach

These are words that describe what has yet to be decided or what will be carefully considered. By contrast, doable modifies more concrete terms:

task

thing

target

Feasible is used when an element of abstraction, distance, and technical specificity is needed. The more earthy doable is rarely used in formal writing, and is not found in the works of Shakespeare, the King James Bible, or any of the founding documents of the United States.

This abstract use of feasible also accounts for the word that expresses a putative, conceptual, or hypothetical state: feasibility. Indeed, we frequently encounter “feasibility study” but not “doability study” (although doability is a word that is sometimes used, it hasn’t yet been added to most dictionaries). As long as something is just an idea, it’s feasible. When it’s time for action, we need to find out if it’s doable.

Examples of do in a Sentence

Verb We should do something special to celebrate your birthday. This crime was done deliberately. I have to do some chores this afternoon. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'm obliged to do my duty. He does his work without complaining. He did a lot for us. What have I done to you to make you so angry? “What are you doing this weekend?” “I'm just relaxing at home.” What is the stock market doing now: rising or falling? Noun (1) it's supposed to be some sort of fancy do issued a long list of dos and don'ts before we even started the project you can tell that the picture was taken in the 1980s from my permed do in this hour of national crisis everyone must do their do in that small town a great deal of do could come from very little indeed

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Verb

Against an Auburn team that wanted to do the same things, Alabama’s defense bounced back in a major way. —

Kennington Smith Iii, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024 In fact, 90% of workers rely on informal networks, friends, and unspoken understandings to get things done. —

Lindsay Kohler, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024 Many Black Friday shoppers avoided the long lines at stores and chose to do their holiday shopping in a more convenient way: online and with their smartphone. —

Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2024 The Ravens’ defense has made modest improvements over the past two games, but there’s more work to do. —

Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 30 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for do

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun (1)

Middle English don, from Old English dōn; akin to Old High German tuon to do, Latin -dere to put, facere to make, do, Greek tithenai to place, set

Noun (2)

Italian

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1754, in the meaning defined above

Abbreviation Or Noun

1897, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of do was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing do

Cite this Entry

Style

“Do.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

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Kids Definition

1 of 2 verb

(ˈ)dü

did (ˈ)did

; done ˈdən

; doing ˈdü-iŋ

; does (ˈ)dəz

: to cause (as an act or action) to happen : carry out, perform

do me a favor

: act entry 2 sense 3, behave

do as I say

: to work at

what one does for a living

: to take suitable action on

do your homework

do the dishes

: set entry 1 sense 11

have my hair done

: decorate sense 1

did the bedroom in blue

: to make progress

does well in school

: to act so as to bring : render

sleep will do you good

: to come to the end of : finish

turn out the light when you are done

: to put forth : exert

did your best to win

: to travel a distance of

did 500 miles that day

: to travel at a speed of

doing 55 miles per hour on the turnpike

: serve entry 1 sense 1d

did five years for armed robbery

: to serve the purpose

half of that will do

: to be fitting or proper

it won't do to be late

—used as a helping verb (1) before the subject in an interrogative sentence

do you play the piano?

, (2) in a negative statement

I do not know

, (3) for emphasis

you do know

, and (4) as a substitute for a preceding verb

you work harder than I do

2 of 2 noun

ˈdō

: the first note of the musical scale

Etymology

Verb

Old English dōn "to cause to happen, perform"

Noun

Italian

Medical Definition

abbreviation or noun

variants or D.O.

ˈdē-ˈō

: doctor of osteopathic medicine

Legal Definition

verb

did; done; doing; does

transitive verb

: perform, execute

: commit

did this act of cruelty

verbal auxiliary

—used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in legal and parliamentary language

do hereby bequeath

Last Updated: 3 Dec 2024 - Updated example sentences

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do

verb

noun (1)

noun (2)

abbreviation (1)

abbreviation or noun

abbreviation (2)

Did you know?

Synonyms

Examples of do in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near do

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

Legal Definition