dido

[ dahy-doh ]

/ ˈdaɪ doʊ /

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noun, plural di·dos, di·does.Usually didos, didoes. Informal.

a mischievous trick; prank; antic.

a bauble or trifle.

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Origin of dido

First recorded in 1800–10; origin uncertain

Words nearby dido

diddy, Diderot, didgeridoo, didicoy, didn't, dido, Didot point system, didrachm, Didrikson, didst, didy

Other definitions for dido (2 of 2)

Dido

[ dahy-doh ]

/ ˈdaɪ doʊ /

noun

Phoenician Elissa. Classical Mythology. a queen of Carthage who killed herself when abandoned by Aeneas.

a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dido in a sentence

At Dido’s house, for example, archaeologist Carolyn Nakamura counted 141 figurines, and of these 54 were animal figurines while only five were fully human ones.
What archaeologists got wrong about female statues, goddesses, and fertility|Annalee Newitz|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
Perhaps when Dido and her neighbors made these figures, they were calling on the power of specific female ancestors rather than some abstract magical force.
What archaeologists got wrong about female statues, goddesses, and fertility|Annalee Newitz|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
Some activities or events in Dido’s culture may have required the aid of a powerful woman.
What archaeologists got wrong about female statues, goddesses, and fertility|Annalee Newitz|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
But Dido got to the loot first, and absconded with it to North Africa, where she set up her kingdom.
Virgil, Jane Austen and Other Authors Can Teach Us About Love|Maura Kelly|January 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

No naïf or innocent, Dido knows plenty about ambition, and how heartless it can make a (hu)man.
Virgil, Jane Austen and Other Authors Can Teach Us About Love|Maura Kelly|January 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The critic, in censuring poor Dido and her sister, totally forgets their very reasonable ground of provocation.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals|John Dryden
In utter misery Dido, on pretext of burning all Æneas' love-gifts, prepares a pyre and summons a sorceress.
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
Dido sends Anna with a last appeal to Æneas, who nevertheless, in spite of struggles, obeys the gods (469-513).
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
Venus feigns assent to Juno's proposal that Æneas shall marry Dido and be king of Carthage.
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
He fled to Dido's father Belus, and with the help of the latter founded a new kingdom in Cyprus.
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil

British Dictionary definitions for dido (1 of 2)

dido

/ (ˈdaɪdəʊ) /

noun plural -dos or -does (usually plural) informal

an antic; prank; trick

Word Origin for dido

C19: originally US: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for dido (2 of 2)

Dido

/ (ˈdaɪdəʊ) /

noun

classical myth a princess of Tyre who founded Carthage and became its queen. Virgil tells of her suicide when abandoned by her lover Aeneas

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

Cultural definitions for dido

Dido

[ (deye-doh) ]

In Roman mythology, the founder and queen of Carthage in north Africa. She committed suicide in grief over the departure of her lover, the hero Aeneas.

notes for Dido

Dido is an image of the unhappy or unrequited lover.

dido

Origin of dido

Words nearby dido

Other definitions for dido (2 of 2)

Words related to dido

How to use dido in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dido (1 of 2)

Word Origin for dido

British Dictionary definitions for dido (2 of 2)

Cultural definitions for dido

notes for Dido