done

[duhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR done ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

past participle of do¹.

Nonstandard. a simple past tense of do¹.

auxiliary verb

South Midland and Southern U.S. Nonstandard. (used with a principal verb in the past or, sometimes, present tense to indicate completed action): I done told you so. He done eat his lunch.

adjective

completed; finished; through: Our work is done.

cooked sufficiently.

worn out; exhausted; used up.

in conformity with fashion, good taste, or propriety; acceptable: It isn't done.

Idioms

be/have done with, to break off relations or connections with; stop.

done for, Informal.

tired; exhausted.
deprived of one's means, position, etc.
dead or close to death.

done in, Informal. very tired; exhausted: He was really done in after a close race.

Related formshalf-done, adjective

Usage note

4. In the adjectival sense “completed, finished, through,” done dates from the 14th century and is entirely standard: Is your portrait done yet?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for half-done

fragmentary, partial, lacking, deficient, inadequate, sketchy, insufficient, bare, unadorned, undeveloped, incomplete, unfulfilled, broken, crude, defective, fractional, immature, imperfect, incoherent, meager

Examples from the Web for half-done

Historical Examples of half-done

I must choose surer hands—the work must not be half-done, as heretofore.
Rookwood
William Harrison Ainsworth
You have half-done it, but only half, because you have not understood.
Our Square and the People in It
Samuel Hopkins Adams
We have heaps of business to do in London—heaps—and the book is only half-done.
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Irma shuffled over on her crooked high heels and returned with the half-done pajamas.
Working With the Working Woman
Cornelia Stratton Parker
Nothing ever showed the wisdom of the proverb about half-done work, children and fools, better; and, alas!
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2
George Saintsbury

British Dictionary definitions for half-done

half-done

adjective

(of a job, task, project, etc) only partially completed

done

verb

the past participle of do 1

be done with or have done with to end relations with

have done to be completely finishedhave you done?

that's done it

an exclamation of frustration when something is ruined
an exclamation when something is completed

interjection

an expression of agreement, as on the settlement of a bargain between two parties

adjective

completed; finished

cooked enoughdone to a turn

used upthey had to surrender when the ammunition was done

socially proper or acceptablethat isn't done in higher circles

informal cheated; tricked

done for informal

dead or almost dead
in serious difficulty

done in or done up informal physically exhausted

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for half-done

done

past participle of do; from Old English past participle gedon (a vestige of the prefix is in ado). U.S. Southern use of done in phrases like "he done gone to the store" is attested from 1827, according to OED: "a perfective auxiliary or with adverbial force in the sense 'already; completely.' " Meaning "finished" is early 15c. Slang done for "doomed" is from 1842.

Idioms and Phrases with half-done

done

In addition to the idioms beginning with done

done deal
done for
done in
done to a T

also see:

easier said than done
good as done
have done (with)
no sooner said (than done)
not done
over and done with
seen one, seen them all (been there, done that)
what's done is done
when all's said and done

Also see underdo.