do-gooder

American

[doo-good-er, -good-] / ˈduˈgʊd ər, -ˌgʊd- /

noun

a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.

do-gooder British

noun

informal a well-intentioned person, esp a naive or impractical one

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of do-gooder

1925–30, do good + -er ¹

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.

The political staffers, the journalists, and the do-gooder nonprofit types all went back home, and back to work.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2025

His full head of hair, round-framed glasses and freshly sprouted mustache gives the Chicagoland native the look of a Depression-era do-gooder.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2025

One commentator said now that the "do-gooder" pandoro with pink icing sugar had been exposed as junk, Italians were wondering where that left "the princess of influencers as well as queen of social media".

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2023

The descriptions of Bankman-Fried by the prosecution's three star witnesses contradict the 31-year-old former billionaire's pre-arrest reputation as a nerdy do-gooder who wanted to be a responsible actor in the rough-and-tumble crypto space.

From Reuters • Oct. 23, 2023

I figured him for a lightweight do-gooder who would last about five minutes in this neighborhood.

From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes

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