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• ado
  ado

  noun

  busy activity or bustle; fuss; bother.
• ADO
  ADO

  abbreviation

  accumulated day off

ado

American  

[uh-doo] / əˈdu /

noun

1. busy activity or bustle; fuss; bother.

   Much more ado has been made over this allegation than the facts warrant.

   Synonyms:

   uproar, turmoil, noise, hubbub, excitement, confusion, commotion, to-do, flurry

   Antonyms:

   tranquility, peace, calm

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idioms

1. without further ado, without additional preamble, preliminaries, or other delay.

   Well, without further ado, let's get down to the details of our master plan.

ADO ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. accumulated day off

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ado ² British  

/ əˈduː /

noun

1. bustling activity; fuss; bother; delay (esp in the phrases without more ado, with much ado )

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Related Words

Ado, to-do, commotion, stir, tumult suggest a great deal of fuss and noise. Ado implies a confused bustle of activity, a considerable emotional upset, and a great deal of talking: Much Ado About Nothing. To-do, now more commonly used, may mean merely excitement and noise and may be pleasant or unpleasant: a great to-do over a movie star. Commotion suggests a noisy confusion and babble: commotion at the scene of an accident. Stir suggests excitement and noise, with a hint of emotional cause: The report was followed by a tremendous stir in the city. Tumult suggests disorder with noise and violence: a tumult as the mob stormed the Bastille.

Etymology

Origin of ado

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (north) at do, a phrase equivalent to at “to” (from Old Norse, which used at with the infinitive) + do do ¹

Explanation

Someone who makes a lot of ado about things has a tendency to make them more busy or complicated than they need to be. A flurry of activity or a lot of complaining about a little problem are both examples of ado. It's an old fashioned word, dating back to the fourteenth century, when it meant "conflict or trouble." "At do" was a Norse version of the English phrase "to do," which was eventually shortened to ado. The most famous use of the word is probably in the title of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Example Sentences

“I think the decision to ask Johnny to ride Further Ado was fairly easy,” Cox said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

“We know he’s the fastest horse in the race on a given day,” Bailey said of Further Ado.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Cox still has two strong contenders in the race, Further Ado and Commandment, who are both 6-1 on the morning line.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Brad Cox, who trains three of those horses, including Florida Derby winner Commandment and Blue Grass champion Further Ado, as well as the interesting long shot Fulleffort, termed the field “very competitive.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

“It’s a mere rehearsal of Much Ado about Nothing. Ladies, keep off, or I shall wax dangerous.”

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë