ado
noun
ado
American
[uh-doo]
/ əˈdu /
noun
idioms
ADO
1
British
abbreviation
ado
2
British
/ əˈduː /
noun
Synonym Usage
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.
Vocabulary lists containing ado
Romeo and Juliet
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Beowulf
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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
So, without further ado, here’s your step-by-step guide to risotto success.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025
All right, without further ado, here’s the next episode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
He sends me back to work without further ado.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Hydralazine acts by binding to and blocking ADO, which means it effectively "mutes" that oxygen alarm.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025
Last month, Dick Advocaat, who is 75, took charge of Dutch second-tier team ADO Den Haag.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
Elsewhere in the Netherlands parts of the roof of the stadium of football team ADO Den Haag was ripped off in the Hague and high speed trains to Belgium, France and the UK were cancelled.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2022
In its ADO supplement, the ADB maintained its growth forecasts for China at 8.1% this year and 5.5% next year.
From Reuters ● Jul. 20, 2021
The ADO is the largest steel tip organization, while the NDA represents the less popular section of soft tip darts, primarily consisting of manufacturers aiming to increase participation by placing soft-tip machines in leagues.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 26, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
