doom

American  

[doom] / dum /

noun

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

• doomy
  adjective
• predoom
  verb (used with object)

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has doomed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have doomed
  perfect
• am dooming
  progressive 1st person singular
• is dooming
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are dooming
  progressive
• have been dooming
  perfect progressive
• has been dooming
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• dooming
  participle
• dooms
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had doomed
  perfect
• was dooming
  progressive singular
• were dooming
  progressive plural
• had been dooming
  perfect progressive
• doomed
  participle
• doomed
  simple

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

As athletic director at USC, Cohen understands the reasons for their doom and gloom.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026

The track is a harbinger—the album is filled with the sound of recorded speech drifting through the ether, and many of them carry messages of doom.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

A few weeks after Gatto took over vocals, they knocked out four songs, highlighted by the aggressive doom of “Time to Burn” and the blasting guitars that echo Gatto’s melodic angst on “Hot Pursuit.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

"I think some of some of the discussion I've seen has veered between outright snobbery and just downright unpleasant, a bit of kill joy attitude, you know, there's enough doom and gloom in the world."

From BBC • May 20, 2026

This assumption became the engine of their doom.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• calamity
• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• downfall