Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
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

Long ago, Jerrie determined she wasn't a talker; she was a doer.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

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

“The small minded of the world don’t like thinkers and doers, especially when they succeed.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the current system was too complex and the NHS needed "more doers and fewer checkers".

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025

This is still where dreamers dream and doers do, and we are stubborn about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025

"Doctor Mac, Doctor Mac, Ye should stretch on a rack, To strike evil doers wi' terror; To join faith and sense Upon any pretence, Was heretic damnable error, Doctor Mac, Was heretic damnable error."

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Robert Green Ingersoll

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training