do
verb (used with object)
to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.).
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do
1 American
[doo, doo, duh]
/ du, dʊ, də /
verb (used with object)
-
does,
present (3rd person singular)
-
did,
past
-
done,
past participle
-
doing
present participle
-
to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.).
Do nothing until you hear the bell.
- Synonyms:
- act
-
to execute (a piece or amount of work).
to do a hauling job.
-
to accomplish; finish; complete.
He has already done his homework.
-
to put forth; exert.
Do your best.
-
to be the cause of (good, harm, credit, etc.); bring about; effect.
-
to render, give, or pay (homage, justice, etc.).
-
to deal with, fix, clean, arrange, move, etc., (anything) as the case may require.
to do the dishes.
-
to travel; traverse.
We did 30 miles today.
-
to serve; suffice for.
This will do us for the present.
-
to condone or approve, as by custom or practice.
That sort of thing simply isn't done.
-
to travel at the rate of (a specified speed).
He was doing 80 when they arrested him.
-
to make or prepare.
I'll do the salad.
-
to serve (a term of time) in prison, or, sometimes, in office.
-
to create, form, or bring into being.
She does wonderful oil portraits.
-
to translate into or change the form or language of.
MGM did the book into a movie.
-
to study or work at or in the field of.
I have to do my math tonight.
-
to explore or travel through as a sightseer.
They did Greece in three weeks.
-
(used with a pronoun, as it or that, or with a general noun, as thing, that refers to a previously mentioned action).
You were supposed to write thank-you letters; do it before tomorrow, please.
-
Informal. to wear out; exhaust; tire.
That last set of tennis did me.
-
Informal. to cheat, trick, or take advantage of.
That crooked dealer did him for $500 at poker.
-
Informal. to attend or participate in.
Let's do lunch next week.
-
Slang. to use (a drug or drugs), especially habitually.
The police report said he was doing cocaine.
-
Slang. to rob; steal from.
The law got him for doing a lot of banks.
-
Slang: Vulgar. to have sex with.
-
Informal. (usually in the negative) to act in accordance with expectations associated with (something specified).
Just ignore her insults—she doesn’t do polite.
verb (used without object)
-
does,
present (3rd person singular)
-
did,
past
-
done,
past participle
-
doing
present participle
-
to act or conduct oneself; be in action; behave.
-
to proceed.
to do wisely.
-
to get along; fare; manage.
to do without an automobile.
-
to be in health, as specified.
Mother and child are doing fine.
-
to serve or be satisfactory, as for the purpose; be enough; suffice.
Will this do?
-
to finish or be finished.
-
to happen; take place; transpire.
What's doing at the office?
-
(used as a substitute to avoid repetition of a verb or full verb expression).
I think as you do.
auxiliary verb
-
does,
present (3rd person singular)
-
did,
past
-
done,
past participle
-
doing
present participle
-
(used in interrogative, negative, and inverted constructions).
Do you like music? I don't care. Seldom do we witness such catastrophes.
-
Archaic. (used in imperatives with you or thou expressed; and occasionally as a metric filler in verse).
Do thou hasten to the king's side. The wind did blow, the rain did fall.
-
(used to lend emphasis to a principal verb).
Do visit us!
noun
-
dos,
plural
-
do's
plural
-
Informal. a burst of frenzied activity; action; commotion.
-
Informal. a hairdo or hair styling.
-
British Slang. a swindle; hoax.
-
Informal. a festive social gathering; party.
verb phrase
-
do without
-
to forgo; dispense with.
-
to dispense with the thing mentioned.
The store doesn't have any, so you'll have to do without.
-
-
do in
-
to kill, especially to murder.
-
to injure gravely or exhaust; wear out; ruin.
The tropical climate did them in.
-
to cheat or swindle.
He was done in by an unscrupulous broker.
-
-
do up
-
to wrap and tie up.
-
to pin up or arrange (the hair).
-
to renovate; launder; clean.
-
to wear out; tire.
-
to fasten.
Do up your coat.
-
to dress.
The children were all done up in funny costumes.
-
-
do for
-
to cause the defeat, ruin, or death of.
-
Chiefly British. to cook and keep house for; manage or provide for.
-
-
do over to redecorate.
-
do with to gain advantage or benefit from; make use of.
I could do with more leisure time.
-
do by to deal with; treat.
He had always done well by his family.
idioms
-
do time, to serve a term in prison.
It's hard to get a decent job once you've done time.
-
dos and don'ts, customs, rules, or regulations.
The dos and don'ts of polite manners are easy to learn.
-
do one's (own) thing. thing.
-
do a number on (someone). number.
-
have to do with. have.
-
do one's number. number.
-
do away with,
-
to put an end to; abolish.
-
to kill.
-
-
do or die, to make a supreme effort.
-
make do, to get along with what is at hand, despite its inadequacy.
I can't afford a new coat so I have to make do with this one.
-
do one proud. proud.
-
do to death. death.
-
do out of, to swindle; cheat.
A furniture store did me out of several hundred dollars.
do
2
American
[doh]
/ doʊ /
noun
Music.
-
dos
plural
-
the syllable used for the first tone or keynote of a diatonic scale.
-
(in the fixed system of solmization) the tone C.
do.
3
American
abbreviation
D/O
4
American
Or
d.o.
D.O.
5
American
Or
DO
do
1
British
/ duː, də, dʊ /
verb
-
to perform or complete (a deed or action)
to do a portrait
the work is done
-
to serve the needs of; be suitable for (a person, situation, etc); suffice
there isn't much food, but it'll do for the two of us
-
(tr) to arrange or fix
you should do the garden now
-
(tr) to prepare or provide; serve
this restaurant doesn't do lunch on Sundays
-
(tr) to make tidy, elegant, ready, etc, as by arranging or adorning
to do one's hair
-
(tr) to improve (esp in the phrase do something to or for )
-
(tr) to find an answer to (a problem or puzzle)
-
(tr) to translate or adapt the form or language of
the book was done into a play
-
(intr) to conduct oneself
do as you please
-
(intr) to fare or manage
how are you doing these days?
-
(tr) to cause or produce
complaints do nothing to help
-
(tr) to give or render
your portrait doesn't do you justice
do me a favour
-
(tr) to work at, esp as a course of study or a profession
he is doing chemistry
what do you do for a living?
-
(tr) to perform (a play, etc); act
they are doing ``Hamlet'' next week
-
(tr) to travel at a specified speed, esp as a maximum
this car will do 120 mph
-
(tr) to travel or traverse (a distance)
we did 15 miles on our walk
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary before the subject of an interrogative sentence as a way of forming a question
do you agree?
when did John go out?
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary to intensify positive statements and commands
I do like your new house
do hurry!
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary before a negative adverb to form negative statements or commands
he does not like cheese
do not leave me here alone!
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in inverted constructions
little did he realize that
only rarely does he come in before ten o'clock
-
used as an auxiliary to replace an earlier verb or verb phrase to avoid repetition
he likes you as much as I do
-
informal (tr) to visit or explore as a sightseer or tourist
to do Westminster Abbey
-
(tr) to wear out; exhaust
-
(intr) to happen (esp in the phrase nothing doing )
-
slang (tr) to serve (a period of time) as a prison sentence
he's doing three years for burglary
he's doing time
-
informal (tr) to cheat or swindle
-
slang (tr) to rob
they did three shops last night
-
slang (tr)
-
to arrest
-
to convict of a crime
-
-
informal (tr) to lose or spend (money) completely
-
slang (tr) to treat violently; assault
-
slang (tr) to take or use (a drug)
-
taboo (tr) (of a male) to have sexual intercourse with
-
(tr) to partake in (a meal)
let's do lunch
-
informal to act like; imitate
he's a good mimic – he can do all his friends well
-
to make a final or supreme effort
-
a conventional formula when being introduced
-
to manage with whatever is available
noun
-
slang an act or instance of cheating or swindling
-
informal a formal or festive gathering; party
-
informal those things that should or should not be done; rules
DO
2
British
abbreviation
-
Doctor of Optometry
-
Doctor of Osteopathy
D/O
3
British
abbreviation
do
4
British
/ dəʊ /
noun
do
5
British
abbreviation
do.
6
British
abbreviation
Synonym Usage
Do, accomplish, achieve mean to bring some action to a conclusion. Do is the general word: He did a great deal of hard work. Accomplish and achieve both connote successful completion of an undertaking. Accomplish emphasizes attaining a desired goal through effort, skill, and perseverance: to accomplish what one has hoped for. Achieve emphasizes accomplishing something important, excellent, or great: to achieve a major breakthrough.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dosimple
-
doessimple
-
have doneperfect
-
has doneperfect
-
am doingprogressive
-
are doingprogressive
-
is doingprogressive
-
have been doingperfect progressive
-
has been doingperfect progressive
Past
-
didsimple
-
had doneperfect
-
was doingprogressive
-
were doingprogressive
-
had been doingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of do1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English dōn; cognate with Dutch doen, German tun; akin to Latin -dere “to put,” facere “to make, do,” Greek tithénai “to set, put,” Sanskrit dadhāti “(he) puts”
Origin of do2
First recorded in 1745–55; from Italian, inverted variant of ut; see origin at gamut
Explanation
To do is to act, perform, or undertake. When you do chores, you engage in the activity of cleaning the kitchen or taking out the trash. Do is one of the most frequently used verbs in English. You do many things in a typical day: you might do the dishes, do your job, and later on, do your taxes. If you meet an old-fashioned gentleman, he might say, "How do you do?" essentially meaning, "Hello." After a difficult test, your friend could ask, "How did you do?" You can also do as you please, or just do nothing all day long.
Vocabulary lists containing do
Scrabble: Two-Letter Words
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Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 3
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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:
It will be staffed by 20-year-old Anderson Khalil, who found Crouch the way most young volunteers do now: social media.
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Zuckerberg took a laissez-faire approach, writing in his Tuesday post that Meta Superintelligence Labs already engages independent evaluators and ”other labs can just do this too.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
But such a move isn’t just about savings; it also can be about the ability to spend and do more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
What do the inner workings of such a system look like?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
If Phineas survived with a large piece of his cortex destroyed, then what does the cortex do?
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
“I went home and I was like, Oh, they’ve already done all the things I want to do. So I just went and sulked for a few days.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“But we are not looking for people to be pen pals, which seems to be what everybody wants to do. We need real help.”
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
As former Goldman Sachs commodity strategist Jeff Currie pointed out a month ago, “Nobody on planet earth consumes crude oil. Refineries do. Everyone else consumes gasoline and diesel.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
"You trust people don't you? This has made us really cautious now in everything we do. It's sad but we feel like we wouldn't trust anybody again."
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
“I don’t care what we have to do. We’re saving Dad and ourselves.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
"Robotic-assisted surgery has the potential to change the way surgeons think about revision knee replacement," said Matthew Bullock, D.O., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and co-author on the study.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2024
But the dance instructor has a TikTok following of his own, and the D.O. is also a Lululemon ambassador.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2021
“The D.O. has published dozens of columns and letters to the editor from liberal and conservative writers alike. We aren’t afraid of controversial views, but we have a responsibility to avoid promoting harmful ones.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 11, 2020
It’s a “delirious smoothie of cultural influences and tributes, from Kurosawa films to superhero comics to the seminal work of the 1930s Nigerian writer D.O. Fagunwa,” writes critic Laura Miller.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2019
The D.O. must see that his Officers possess, and live in, the spirit of The Army.
From The Authoritative Life of General William Booth by George S. (George Scott) Railton
Images of Air Force One parked at the Turkish airport show vehicles labeled with the logo of a catering company called Turkish DO & CO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Watch what we DO, not what we SAY.”
From Barron's ● Dec. 8, 2025
The website can also be used by people to note that they expressly DO wish to be a donor.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
“If you receive one of these citations, DO NOT scan the QR code, and report it to the Alhambra PD Traffic Section at 626-570-5119,” the police department wrote on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2024
With his blue eyes only inches from hers, he shouted, “WHAT DO YOU KNOW?”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Everyone has sartorial do’s and don’ts for the office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The DMA comes with a list of do's and don'ts for the world's biggest digital platforms in an attempt to keep them in check and create an open online space.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Across schools, the bigger fix would be more precision from administrators on AI do’s and don’ts, Anand said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
A professor at Kabul University told the BBC that under such circumstances, they are forced to prepare textbook chapters themselves, taking into account the do's and don'ts imposed by the Taliban government.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025
Occasionally, during a general conversation about do’s and don’t’s, I would share some information that I thought would be helpful to them, but otherwise I kept my mouth shut.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
The nearly 20-acre property is located near Angra dos Reis, a coastal region around two hours from Rio de Janeiro.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
The researchers are now testing moringa seed extract on water collected from the Paraíba do Sul River, which supplies São José dos Campos.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026
Claudiane Pereira dos Santos, 50, a cleaner, welcomes the tourist "frenzy."
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
Alison dos Santos of Jamaica, the bronze medalist in both the Tokyo and Paris Games, won the men’s 400 hurdles in 46.65.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2025
My mom is like a walking list of dos and don’ts.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Frank McCourt bought the team before the 2004 season and brought in his own people, as a new owner often does.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Should I spend the money and PTO to feel like I’m keeping this relationship afloat, or does it create a false sense of excitement?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
The broad strokes of dark composite cladding along the rocker panels, lower front and rear fascia, and around the wheel wells, signal its soft-road sensibilities—as does the 8.5 inches of ground clearance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Next, Sam Sankar of the environmental-law organization Earthjustice explains why SCOTUS’ longstanding skepticism towards the environment does not make him as pessimistic as one might expect.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
Not once does Midnight pause or Caesar look back.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
There are reports the newsroom at the San Luis Obispo Tribune was cut too, but the company did not respond to requests for comment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind did not immediately respond to MarketWatch requests for comment.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
I was used to people in interviews saying, “How did you get your name?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
As my talk with Kelley wound down, he said, “I wonder if I did the right thing or not.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Lala, the first day you held a cello, how did it go?” she asks.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
But he argues that something needs to be done about the country’s inequality crisis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
“I’ve never been so ambitious,” he says, “and I’ve never done a project with as much love in it and as little ego.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Everything she has done, she has done by coercion.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It’s a little disheartening to realize that somebody has done something that can’t be repaired — like, this damage cannot be repaired,” Gough said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Even so, when I finished painting the last of the doorjambs and caulking around the new sinks and tubs that Dad and Jonah installed last weekend, I was happy to be done.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
He is doing it again this year and wants me to visit him.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
He never graduated from college, and has a relatively limited record in running businesses, doing deals or managing a vast portfolio of stock investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
"When you see those guys doing it and you're like, 'well, it wasn't long ago they were probably in my position'," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It’s the part where I start doing the work ... the uncomfortable, unglamorous, necessary work. I’m choosing to treat this season as the foundation, not the finish line.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
On the other side are the guerrillas, doing the same thing.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
