do in
Britishverb
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to murder or kill
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to exhaust
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Tire out, exhaust, as in Running errands all day did me in . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s] Also see done in .
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Kill, as in Mystery writers are always thinking of new ways to do their characters in . [ Slang ; early 1900s] Also see def. 4.
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Ruin utterly; also cheat or swindle. For example, The five-alarm fire did in the whole block , or His so-called friend really did him in . [First half of 1900s]
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do oneself in . Commit suicide, as in She was always threatening to do herself in . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]
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.
Stokes said the focus in 2022 was about "bringing enjoyment back", but "now it is about everything we do is to win, being relentless in what we do in our training and behaviour".
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Even the things we do in pleasurable solitude can help us connect to one another.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Trump: “You know, if somebody said, ‘What would be your theory or what would you do in terms of Libya,’ I’d do one thing,” Trump said.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026
Koike hopes to do in 15 days what takes other manufacturers 50, charging extra for an express service like Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Maybe he’d get to slurp down stringy spaghetti like he’d seen dogs do in a cartoon once.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
