doom

American  

[doom] / dum /

noun

• dooms
  plural

1. fate or destiny, especially adverse fate; unavoidable ill fortune.

   In exile and poverty, he met his doom.

2. ruin; death.

   to fall to one's doom.

3. a judgment, decision, or sentence, especially an unfavorable one.

   The judge pronounced the defendant's doom.

   Synonyms:

   fate, ruination, downfall, destruction

4. the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.

5. Obsolete. a statute, enactment, or legal judgment.

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verb (used with object)

• dooms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• doomed,
  past participle,  past
• dooming
  present participle

1. to destine, especially to an adverse fate.

   Synonyms:

   predestine, foreordain

2. to pronounce judgment against; condemn.

3. to ordain or fix as a sentence or fate.

doom British  

/ duːm /

noun

1. death or a terrible fate

2. a judgment or decision

3. (sometimes capital) another term for the Last Judgment

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verb

1. (tr) to destine or condemn to death or a terrible fate

Synonym Usage

See fate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predoom
  verb (used with object)
• doomy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dooms
  plural

Participles

• dooming
  present
• doomed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• doom
  simple
• dooms
  simple
• have doomed
  perfect
• has doomed
  perfect
• am dooming
  progressive
• are dooming
  progressive
• is dooming
  progressive
• have been dooming
  perfect progressive
• has been dooming
  perfect progressive

Past

• doomed
  simple
• had doomed
  perfect
• was dooming
  progressive
• were dooming
  progressive
• had been dooming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will doom
  simple
• will have doomed
  perfect
• will be dooming
  progressive
• will have been dooming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of doom

First recorded before 900; Middle English dome, dōm, Old English dōm “judgment, law”; cognate with Old Norse dōmr, “judgment, sentence, court,” Gothic dōms “sentence, fame,” all from Germanic dômaz “what has been set,” from dôn “to set, place, do ¹ ( def. ) ”; compare Greek thémis “law” (i.e., “what has been set, laid down”); see deem

Explanation

Doom is death, destruction, the end of the world, the big goodbye. It can also be a verb — if a man twirling a mustache ties you to the railroad tracks, he dooms you to certain death! Doctor Doom is a comic book villain you do not want to mess with. He’s the doctor of death! If you feel that the world is terrible, you’re all doom and gloom. If someone dies, she meets her doom. People usually talk about doom as a type of fate — doom isn't an accident. When doom is a verb, watch out — being slack dooms careers and lies doom relationships. Stay away from all forms of doom.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doom dooms doomed dooming

People are reconnecting with childhood interests to counter the "doom and gloom" of adult life, he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Data-backed analyses predict the Lady Greyhounds’ doom before they’ve even begun to race.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

She detested the East Coast avatars of apocalypse, like Nathanael West, who saw only doom and gloom in sunny L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

That is the way out of the discourse doom loop and into the solution.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

I swallow the pill of my doom and clear my throat.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

A costly turnover coupled with a foul by LeBron James on Anthony Edwards in the final seconds dooms the Lakers to a 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2025

His thoughtful and riveting performance ensures that we never stop pulling for Andy, even after he dooms the crew’s most vulnerable but least interesting member.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2024

It fares no better on the merits, fox-trotting around an insurmountable Supreme Court precedent strictly limiting recusal that dooms the whole endeavor.

From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2023

Navy, where toasting with water is essentially banned, as it dooms the toaster to a watery grave.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2023

Yet, with her prescience, she was aware of dooms and sorrows outside her lover's purview.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Researchers believe the shock "fizzles" after reaching the outer boundary of a bubble created by gas that the doomed star had previously expelled.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The doomed plane was operated by AeroDiana, which offers sightseeing trips lasting 30 minutes to an hour over the site, which is best seen from the air.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

But I think the combination of everything has doomed it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Call it Bluegrass Noir, and Busby the doomed auteur living out his songs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Had he just saved his sister—or doomed her?

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Jarmond’s easy-way-out decision is dooming the basketball program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2025

While the documentary did not land Chow in prison, the filmmaker said he paid a steep price as investors and collaborators deserted him, almost dooming "Deadline".

From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025

Knowing that handing off the mantle to any of these soft-bellied siblings meant dooming his life’s work, Roy let slip one of the most devastating parental assessments ever captured on television.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025

Frank added it to the bill, dooming it to failure; it would be another 13 years before both classes would win protection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

I started the long trudge across the fields and had gone some distance before I paid any attention to the soft and muddy ground, which was dooming my city shoes.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Related Words

• calamity
• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• downfall