can't do anything with

Idioms

Unable to cope with or manage someone or something. For example, I can't do anything with my hair, or My teenage daughter is very difficult—I can't do anything with her. This expression uses do in the sense of “deal with,” a usage dating from the early 1500s.

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:

can't do anything with

“Life is so unpredictable and uncertain. We can’t do anything with this uncertainty.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2022

“If you really have two patrol cars out there, you can’t do anything with 200 other cars on the runway,” Sheriff’s Sgt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2022

"We can't do anything with that £437m," he added.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2022

“People can’t do anything with this miserable salary,” said Jean Wilkens Pierre.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2022

But when you’re reaching like that, straining for the ball, you start to tense up and then you can’t do anything with the ball even if you do get it.

From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023