can-do

[kan-doo]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR can-do ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Informal.

marked by purposefulness and efficiency: a can-do executive.

noun

the quality of being efficient and enthusiastic.

Origin of can-do

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for can-do

resilient, flexible, compliant, malleable, versatile, AC-DC, adjustable, changeable, conformable, convertible, ductile, plastic, pliable, pliant, supple, tractable, variable, alterable, moldable, easy-going

Examples from the Web for can-do

Contemporary Examples of can-do

We all know a few Elizabeth Banks—people who cruise through life at a steady clip of can-do energy.
Where's Your Willpower?
Casey Schwartz
November 24, 2010
Why is our can-do country, tied at inception to the pursuit of happiness, so reliably interested in visions of its own demise?
A Great Dystopian Novel
Taylor Antrim
March 30, 2010
I argued he should be moved over to a political adviser slot, where his considerable, can-do talents would better serve his boss.
Rumbling Over Rahm
Leslie H. Gelb
February 22, 2010
On the other end of the phone was my Grandma Rose, a can-do matriarch calling from her home on Avenue U, six blocks away.
My Man Crush on JFK, Jr.
Mark Katz
July 16, 2009
Americans are can-do people who will quickly fix their problems if allowed to do so in a rational context.
Stop the Bailout: Four Better Alternatives
Alan Quasha
March 11, 2009

Historical Examples of can-do

A tug, the Gando, immediately re-named the Can-do, brought out our lighters of coal.
The Bonadventure
Edmund Blunden

British Dictionary definitions for can-do

can-do

adjective

confident and resourceful in the face of challengesa can-do attitude

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for can-do

adj.

by 1952, from expression can do "it is possible," literally "(I or we) can do (it)," 1903, perhaps based on earlier no can do (see no).