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definitions
  • synonyms

done

[duhn]
See more synonyms for done on Thesaurus.com
verb
  1. past participle of do1.
  2. Nonstandard. a simple past tense of do1.
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auxiliary verb
  1. 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.
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adjective
  1. completed; finished; through: Our work is done.
  2. cooked sufficiently.
  3. worn out; exhausted; used up.
  4. in conformity with fashion, good taste, or propriety; acceptable: It isn't done.
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Idioms
  1. be/have done with, to break off relations or connections with; stop.
  2. done for, Informal.
    1. tired; exhausted.
    2. deprived of one's means, position, etc.
    3. dead or close to death.
  3. done in, Informal. very tired; exhausted: He was really done in after a close race.
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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. 2018

Related Words

fragmentarypartiallackingdeficientinadequatesketchyinsufficientbareunadornedundevelopedincompleteunfulfilledbrokencrudedefectivefractionalimmatureimperfectincoherentmeager

Examples from the Web for half-done

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • We have heaps of business to do in London—heaps—and the book is only half-done.

  • 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!

British Dictionary definitions for half-done

half-done

adjective
  1. (of a job, task, project, etc) only partially completed
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done

verb
  1. the past participle of do 1
  2. be done with or have done with to end relations with
  3. have done to be completely finishedhave you done?
  4. that's done it
    1. an exclamation of frustration when something is ruined
    2. an exclamation when something is completed
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interjection
  1. an expression of agreement, as on the settlement of a bargain between two parties
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adjective
  1. completed; finished
  2. cooked enoughdone to a turn
  3. used upthey had to surrender when the ammunition was done
  4. socially proper or acceptablethat isn't done in higher circles
  5. informal cheated; tricked
  6. done for informal
    1. dead or almost dead
    2. in serious difficulty
  7. done in or done up informal physically exhausted
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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

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.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.