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Synonyms

doer

American  
[doo-er] / ˈdu ər /

noun

  • doers
    plural
  1. a person or thing that does something, especially a person who gets things done with vigor and efficiency.

  2. a person characterized by action, as distinguished from one given to contemplation.

  3. Australian. an amusing or eccentric person; character.


doer British  
/ ˈduːə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that does something or acts in a specified manner

    a doer of good

  2. an active or energetic person

  3. a thriving animal, esp a horse

"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

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of doer

1300–50; Middle English. See do 1, -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.

See Examples For:

In one, Grimes offered to help Musk get $5 billion in funding from then-cryptocurrency wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried, whom he described as an “Ultra genius and doer builder like your formula.”

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 10, 2026

It’s like, hey buddy, turns out you are the doer.

From Slate Jun. 28, 2023

"You were a dreamer and a doer, and a pioneer in our sport - truly one of a kind," former world number two Tommy Haas said in a tribute.

From BBC Dec. 5, 2022

As a longtime subscriber and crossword puzzle doer of the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 28, 2022

The passive allows a writer to postpone the mention of a doer that is heavy, old news, or both.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

To stave off Huxley’s dystopia, we must deliberately shape our children’s souls so that they can be creators, doers and thinkers embracing the next frontier.

From The Wall Street Journal May 8, 2026

One almost gets a sense that the great doers of history were like robots, temporarily inhabited by an otherworldly spiritual force or, alternatively, were stick figures that Hegel moved about on his grandiose world-historical tableau.

From Salon Mar. 28, 2026

"Across IT companies, people managers are being let go while the doers are being kept to rationalise the workforce and bring in efficiencies," Neeti Sharma, CEO of staffing firm TeamLease Digital told the BBC.

From BBC Jul. 28, 2025

Is California a sun-kissed incubator of innovation and opportunity that continues to beckon doers and dreamers from the world over, as it has for well over 150 years?

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 25, 2024

Austere, correct, unyielding, he was a terror to evil doers.

From Hunting in Many Lands The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club by Various

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