do for
Britishverb
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(tr) to convict of a crime or offence
they did him for manslaughter
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(intr) to cause the ruin, death, or defeat of
the last punch did for him
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(intr) to do housework for
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to thrive or succeed
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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]
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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.
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.