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.

---

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

---

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

Past

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

And yet, it isn’t all doom and gloom.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

"We don't want to put doom and gloom on everything because we are a very innovative industry," she said.

From BBC • May 27, 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

The turtle agrees to carry the scorpion across the river after being reassured that he will not sting him, since doing so would doom them both.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Ignoring a feeling of impending doom, Fadi had felt a surge of satisfaction as he’d seen Ike’s face.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Related Words

• calamity
• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• downfall