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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

I say, ‘Whoa! Be sure and tell that to your frien at the precinc, they don star snatchin my ass for vagran.’

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Now, however, I am a senior citizen who can look at events with the benefit of perspective and hindsight, and thus I have decided to forgive Don Nelson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

“There was almost a Don Quixote feel to it,” recalls one Warner Bros. executive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

But Sophie Cunningham has let the state turn her into a combination of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, willing to joust with a windmill.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Three years ago, Thailand's then-foreign minister Don Pramudwinai met with Suu Kyi in private for more than an hour, her last known encounter with a foreign envoy since her detention.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

He changed it to Don Quixote, and added de la Mancha so everyone would know where he came from.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

He dons it like armor for the chaos to come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

On visits to the park's clubhouse, he always dons an England tie, complete with pin badges.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

It’s as if, when Early dons Maddie’s blonde wig, complete with perfectly placed flyaways that droop into his face, he is neither himself nor the character, but every woman.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

When inspecting troops with her father, she dons the same long black leather coat and dark sunglasses that he wears.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026

Also a factor was his laugh, against which many dons would most certainly rebel if subjected to its shattering bang more than once a week.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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

Hine often donned disguises or pretended to be inspecting a factory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Her grandson Alessandro, 23, donned a volunteer firefighter's helmet and joined in the search for his missing father.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

She donned her armor and said, "I'm sorry my lady mother took you captive, my lord."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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

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

An otherwise urban-dwelling sophisticate, he cultivated a rustic demeanor for France’s benefit, uncharacteristically donning a coonskin hat and simple clothes to impress cosseted aristocrats and ordinary Parisians alike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

I asked, jerking my head to where Corban and Blake were donning scuba gear.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• dress
• put on
• wear