hen do
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hen do
First recorded in 1995–2000; hen ( def. ) + do 1 ( def. ) (in the informal sense “festive social gathering”)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Boon had been on a long weekend hen do in Milan with five others before her airport ordeal.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Mrs Maxwell went to Benidorm in Spain for a hen do with a group of friends on 28 April 2017.
From BBC • Aug. 19, 2018
I wanted to make a show that harnessed that gloriously awkward feeling that comes from seeing someone fail so badly that it ruins someone’s hen do.
From The Guardian • Oct. 6, 2015
So too was the procession of women, no doubt feeling the effects of the previous night's hen do, grimly lining up to avoid catching the bouquet.
From The Guardian • Apr. 27, 2013
Those, sir, are modeled on the State-House in Paris, and are intended to shelter the youthful damsels, here assembled, as the wings of a hen do the chickens of her bosom—hem!
From The Last of the Foresters Or, Humors on the Border; A story of the Old Virginia Frontier by Cooke, John Esten
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
