do any good

Idioms

Improve a situation or effect a favorable result, as in Tell me if this new medicine does any good. [Early 1700s] A negative version, do no good, is slightly older (late 1600s); for example, All his explanations will do no good.

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:

do any good

It doesn’t do any good to fall in love with someplace if you can’t actually live there full time.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 29, 2025

"All this spending can hardly do any good to the availability of food," he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2024

“As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them,” Sanders wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

I told you that didn’t do any good to vote, didn’t I?’”

From Washington Times ● Aug. 20, 2023

I want to sink behind the fence and hide, but it wouldn’t do any good.

From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord

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