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

---

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

---

ado ² British  

/ əˈduː /

noun

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

---

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

Example Sentences

All right, without further ado, here’s Yvonne and Oscar.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Without further ado, here are those ten surprises.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025

So this new crop of concerns might turn out to be much ado about nothing.

From Barron's • Dec. 4, 2025

Without further ado, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2024

“Without further ado, we will begin,” the superintendent boomed, “if you have no objections, Miss Culver.”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck