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• don
  don

  noun

  Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
• Don
  Don

  noun

  a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. About 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long.

don

¹ American  

[don, dawn] / dɒn, dɔn /

noun

• dons
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.

2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lord or gentleman.

3. (initial capital letter) an Italian title of address, especially for a priest.

4. a person of great importance.

5. (in the English universities) a head, fellow, or tutor of a college.

6. (in the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.

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don ² American  

[don] / dɒn /

verb (used with object)

• dons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• donned,
  past participle,  past
• donning
  present participle

1. to put on, as clothing or equipment.

   He donned his best shirt and tie for the interview.

   Donning goggles and fins, they dived off the raft one by one.

2. to assume or adopt, as a particular attitude, responsibility, etc..

   The actress is all set to don a new role as first-time director of her own film.

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don ³ American  

[dohn] / doʊn /

conjunction

1. (in prescriptions) donec.

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Don ⁴ American  

[don, dawn] / dɒn, dɔn /

noun

1. a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. About 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long.

2. a river in NE Scotland, flowing E from Aberdeen county to the North Sea. 62 miles (100 km) long.

3. a river in central England, flowing NE from S Yorkshire to the Humber estuary. 60 miles (97 km) long.

4. a male given name, form of Donald.

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Don ⁵ American  

[dawn] / dɔn /

noun

Welsh Mythology.

1. a goddess, the mother of Gwydion and Arianrod: corresponds to the Irish Danu.

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don ¹ British  

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, esp at Oxford or Cambridge

2. the head of a student dormitory at certain Canadian universities and colleges

3. a Spanish gentleman or nobleman

4. (in the Mafia) the head of a family

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Don ² British  

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a river rising in W Russia, southeast of Tula and flowing generally south, to the Sea of Azov: linked by canal to the River Volga. Length: 1870 km (1162 miles)

2. a river in NE Scotland, rising in the Cairngorm Mountains and flowing east to the North Sea. Length: 100 km (62 miles)

3. a river in N central England, rising in S Yorkshire and flowing northeast to the Humber. Length: about 96 km (60 miles)

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Don ³ British  

/ don, dɒn /

noun

1. a Spanish title equivalent to Mr : placed before a name to indicate respect

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don ⁴ British  

/ dɒn /

verb

1. (tr) to put on (clothing)

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Usage

What is a basic definition of don? Don means to put on or dress in clothing. The word Don is a title for men in Spanish and don is a term for the head of a mafia family. Don has a few other senses as a noun. When used as a verb, don means to put on clothing. When you don a fancy hat, you place it on your head. Sometimes don is used to indicate that you’re putting on fancy clothes.

• Real-life examples: People don formal clothes to attend weddings. The media is often obsessed with the designer clothing that celebrities have donned for an awards show. It is a good idea to don a helmet when riding a bike.
• Used in a sentence: I don my long winter coat whenever it snows.

In Spanish, the title Don is used like Mr. in English to show respect to a man. Don is used before a man’s first name.

• Real-life example: The fictional Don Juan was a legendary womanizer. The fictional Don Quixote is remembered for battling with windmills.
• Used in a sentence: While in Spain, I met with my good friends Don Emilio and Don Diego.

The word don is also used to refer to the head of a mafia family or syndicate. This sense of don is also sometimes used as a title.

• Real-life examples: Actor Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone, the don of the fictional Corleone family, in the film The Godfather. Carlo Gambino was the don of New York City’s Gambino crime family.
• Used in a sentence: The police arrested several low-ranking members of the crime family but could never get evidence against the don.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dons
  plural

Participles

• donning
  present
• donned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• don
  simple
• dons
  simple
• have donned
  perfect
• has donned
  perfect
• am donning
  progressive
• are donning
  progressive
• is donning
  progressive
• have been donning
  perfect progressive
• has been donning
  perfect progressive

Past

• donned
  simple
• had donned
  perfect
• was donning
  progressive
• were donning
  progressive
• had been donning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will don
  simple
• will have donned
  perfect
• will be donning
  progressive
• will have been donning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of don¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Italian, Spanish, from Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of don²

First recorded in 1560–70; contraction of do ¹ + on; cf. doff

Origin of don³

By shortening of Latin donec ( def. )

Explanation

To don means to put on, as in clothing or hats. A hunter will don his camouflage clothes when he goes hunting. What is the opposite of don, an old-fashioned word meaning "to put on?" Doff another old-fashioned word meaning "to take off." These two words have something else in common - both are contractions from the 14th century English expressions do on and do off respectively. Don your boots before going out in the snow and doff them when you come inside again! A don is also a Spanish nobleman and a dean of a college at Oxford or Cambridge, but these meanings come from the Latin dominus meaning "master."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

don Don dons donned donning

His wannabe Robocops launch indiscriminate raids, operate detention facilities under conditions out of a Dickens novel and regularly don face masks to hide their identities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Only today’s would-be homesteaders look to TikTok stars like Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman for inspiration or don Gunne Sax-style prairie dresses and call the look cottagecore.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Babies who breastfeed should get all the water they need from breast milk and don not need any extra, the NHS says - but they may want to feed more than normal.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Big employers such as Ford and philanthropies are ramping up programs to persuade more Americans to don tool belts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

“Yes, ma’m. I sure don wanna make a bad impressia in a fine place like the Night of Joy. Whoa!”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

“There was almost a Don Quixote feel to it,” recalls one Warner Bros. executive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Phantasm” director Don Coscarelli also shared news of his longtime collaborator’s death on Facebook, celebrating Bannister’s work on the horror films.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

But Sophie Cunningham has let the state turn her into a combination of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, willing to joust with a windmill.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Three years ago, Thailand's then-foreign minister Don Pramudwinai met with Suu Kyi in private for more than an hour, her last known encounter with a foreign envoy since her detention.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

ONE month had gone by since Don Quixote had come back home, and his friends still had not seen him.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

In fact, in her first meet-cute with Mr. Hayward, he dons his own glasses, the first of many acts in which he matches Mary in the series.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

On visits to the park's clubhouse, he always dons an England tie, complete with pin badges.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

A historic church dons a "Go Knicks!" banner, while bars' clapboard signs advertise the game.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

“I have to watch the refs and be ready right when there’s a break in the action,” Janssen, who dons a headset so he can communicate directly with team staffers, said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

"How astute of you. I am Jean de Joinville, one of the king's companions. When the king goes out, one of us often dons an imitation crown, for the king's protection."

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Brandon Silden donned video goggles and prepared to launch one of the Marines’ latest weapons: a small, one-way-attack drone that is revolutionizing modern warfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Consider Gordon Ramsay’s “24 Hours to Hell and Back,” in which the chef donned full prosthetics and makeup to trick restaurant staff into treating him like an ordinary customer.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Fellow fan Rusty Carbaug, a pilot in her 30s who dropped by the Garden to wish Swift well, donned a Kansas-themed T-shirt in honour of Kelce, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Her grandson Alessandro, 23, donned a volunteer firefighter's helmet and joined in the search for his missing father.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

The weariness came on him suddenly, as he donned the roughspun blacks that were their everyday wear.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Al-Dabba and his sons, donning protective netted hats and wielding metal bee smokers, gently inspect the neat rows of teeming hives.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

That thought is echoed in the album’s cover art, an image of two miniature Finn Wolfhards facing off, donning colonial garb and brandishing weapons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Groups of fans huddled outside throughout the day, with some singing Swift tunes and donning concert merchandise.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Hoards of fans huddled outside throughout the day Friday, some singing Swift tunes and donning concert merch, while others climbed scaffolding hoping to catch a better view of the festivities.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Duuzuu noticed me donning my coat and made his questioning noise.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

Related Words

• dress
• put on
• wear