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• don
  don

  noun

  Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
• Don
  Don

  noun

  a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. About 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long.

don

¹ American  

[don, dawn] / dɒn, dɔn /

noun

• dons
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.

2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lord or gentleman.

3. (initial capital letter) an Italian title of address, especially for a priest.

4. a person of great importance.

5. (in the English universities) a head, fellow, or tutor of a college.

6. (in the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.

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don ² American  

[don] / dɒn /

verb (used with object)

• dons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• donned,
  past participle,  past
• donning
  present participle

1. to put on, as clothing or equipment.

   He donned his best shirt and tie for the interview.

   Donning goggles and fins, they dived off the raft one by one.

2. to assume or adopt, as a particular attitude, responsibility, etc..

   The actress is all set to don a new role as first-time director of her own film.

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don ³ American  

[dohn] / doʊn /

conjunction

1. (in prescriptions) donec.

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Don ⁴ American  

[don, dawn] / dɒn, dɔn /

noun

1. a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. About 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long.

2. a river in NE Scotland, flowing E from Aberdeen county to the North Sea. 62 miles (100 km) long.

3. a river in central England, flowing NE from S Yorkshire to the Humber estuary. 60 miles (97 km) long.

4. a male given name, form of Donald.

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Don ⁵ American  

[dawn] / dɔn /

noun

Welsh Mythology.

1. a goddess, the mother of Gwydion and Arianrod: corresponds to the Irish Danu.

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don ¹ British  

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, esp at Oxford or Cambridge

2. the head of a student dormitory at certain Canadian universities and colleges

3. a Spanish gentleman or nobleman

4. (in the Mafia) the head of a family

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Don ² British  

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a river rising in W Russia, southeast of Tula and flowing generally south, to the Sea of Azov: linked by canal to the River Volga. Length: 1870 km (1162 miles)

2. a river in NE Scotland, rising in the Cairngorm Mountains and flowing east to the North Sea. Length: 100 km (62 miles)

3. a river in N central England, rising in S Yorkshire and flowing northeast to the Humber. Length: about 96 km (60 miles)

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Don ³ British  

/ don, dɒn /

noun

1. a Spanish title equivalent to Mr : placed before a name to indicate respect

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don ⁴ British  

/ dɒn /

verb

1. (tr) to put on (clothing)

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Usage

What is a basic definition of don? Don means to put on or dress in clothing. The word Don is a title for men in Spanish and don is a term for the head of a mafia family. Don has a few other senses as a noun. When used as a verb, don means to put on clothing. When you don a fancy hat, you place it on your head. Sometimes don is used to indicate that you’re putting on fancy clothes.

• Real-life examples: People don formal clothes to attend weddings. The media is often obsessed with the designer clothing that celebrities have donned for an awards show. It is a good idea to don a helmet when riding a bike.
• Used in a sentence: I don my long winter coat whenever it snows.

In Spanish, the title Don is used like Mr. in English to show respect to a man. Don is used before a man’s first name.

• Real-life example: The fictional Don Juan was a legendary womanizer. The fictional Don Quixote is remembered for battling with windmills.
• Used in a sentence: While in Spain, I met with my good friends Don Emilio and Don Diego.

The word don is also used to refer to the head of a mafia family or syndicate. This sense of don is also sometimes used as a title.

• Real-life examples: Actor Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone, the don of the fictional Corleone family, in the film The Godfather. Carlo Gambino was the don of New York City’s Gambino crime family.
• Used in a sentence: The police arrested several low-ranking members of the crime family but could never get evidence against the don.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dons
  plural

Participles

• donning
  present
• donned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• don
  simple
• dons
  simple
• have donned
  perfect
• has donned
  perfect
• am donning
  progressive
• are donning
  progressive
• is donning
  progressive
• have been donning
  perfect progressive
• has been donning
  perfect progressive

Past

• donned
  simple
• had donned
  perfect
• was donning
  progressive
• were donning
  progressive
• had been donning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will don
  simple
• will have donned
  perfect
• will be donning
  progressive
• will have been donning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of don¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Italian, Spanish, from Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of don²

First recorded in 1560–70; contraction of do ¹ + on; cf. doff

Origin of don³

By shortening of Latin donec ( def. )

Explanation

To don means to put on, as in clothing or hats. A hunter will don his camouflage clothes when he goes hunting. What is the opposite of don, an old-fashioned word meaning "to put on?" Doff another old-fashioned word meaning "to take off." These two words have something else in common - both are contractions from the 14th century English expressions do on and do off respectively. Don your boots before going out in the snow and doff them when you come inside again! A don is also a Spanish nobleman and a dean of a college at Oxford or Cambridge, but these meanings come from the Latin dominus meaning "master."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

don Don dons donned donning

Every year, thousands of people around the world don red robes – and in some cases long black wigs – for The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Only today’s would-be homesteaders look to TikTok stars like Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman for inspiration or don Gunne Sax-style prairie dresses and call the look cottagecore.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

At times, diners will win don virtual reality headgear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Big employers such as Ford and philanthropies are ramping up programs to persuade more Americans to don tool belts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Together they helped Quentyn don his own harness.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

But his friend Lib Dem peer Lord Don Foster says he is "still at it".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Then, he sailed it past first baseman Don Mattingly, bouncing it off the right-field ballboy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

It was on line and probably would have nailed the hustling Gantner but John cut it off, then threw wildly past catcher Don Slaught and into the Brewers’ dugout as Gantner scored.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Manager Don Kelly insisted that his removal on Tuesday wasn’t injury-related, which might be even more alarming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

"Aha, I have them now," Don Quixote said to himself.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

What it also provides is perspective: The concerns of Mafia dons and Westie bosses may be a valid chapter of the America immigrant saga.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The White House official dons a singlet and head into the cage.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

A historic church dons a "Go Knicks!" banner, while bars' clapboard signs advertise the game.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

While the film dons Prada’s name, Schiaparelli was among the go-to designers for the promo tour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

He’s wearing that resigned miserable face he dons whenever he thinks I’m not looking, or when he’s just too tired to fake it.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

Brandon Silden donned video goggles and prepared to launch one of the Marines’ latest weapons: a small, one-way-attack drone that is revolutionizing modern warfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

It was during this crossover that Spider-Man first donned the sentient black suit that would become known as Venom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Consider Gordon Ramsay’s “24 Hours to Hell and Back,” in which the chef donned full prosthetics and makeup to trick restaurant staff into treating him like an ordinary customer.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

The pair both donned Christian Dior, according to Swift's longtime publicist, and elected to skip bridesmaids and groomsmen.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

He donned his best silk shirt, his purple cravat, his brown velvet jacket with the braided lapels.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Al-Dabba and his sons, donning protective netted hats and wielding metal bee smokers, gently inspect the neat rows of teeming hives.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

People don’t just attend shows; they arrive in elaborate, artist-inspired outfits, from Taylor Swift fans trading friendship bracelets to Beyoncé fans donning cowboy hats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

As England's tournament continues, Richard will be donning his kit, singing loud and generally having a great time.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Hordes of soccer fans donning Mexico and Korea jerseys were walking down Olympic Boulevard energized but not alarmed in any way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

By noon, as race fans began to arrive by train and by automobile from all over the East, men were already shedding their coats and ties, women donning broad-brimmed sun hats and sunglasses.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• dress
• put on
• wear