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Synonyms

do for

British  

verb

  1. (tr) to convict of a crime or offence

    they did him for manslaughter

  2. (intr) to cause the ruin, death, or defeat of

    the last punch did for him

  3. (intr) to do housework for

  4. to thrive or succeed

"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

do for Idioms  
  1. Bring about the death, defeat, or ruin of, as in He swore he'd do for him . This usage is often put in the passive voice (see done for ). [First half of 1700s]

  2. Care or provide for, take care of, as in They decided to hire a housekeeper to do for Grandmother . This usage today is more common in Britain than in America. [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.

I know the power of storytelling and what that can do for people, and I can't think of anything more lovely than knowing that I was there for her before I even knew her.

From BBC

“And I think both teams would like to be able to kind of go through their routine and process like they do for every football game and not have this disruption.”

From Los Angeles Times

I’m wondering what people usually do for their kids or grandchildren.

From MarketWatch

“That’s basically what I do for a living,” he tells them.

From The Wall Street Journal

Another crucial sanity-saving task to do for your heirs is to write down your user names and passwords for every account you have.

From MarketWatch