to-do

[tuh-doo]

See more synonyms for to-do on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural to-dos. Informal.

bustle; fuss: They made a great to-do over the dinner.

Origin of to-do

before 900; Middle English, Old English; noun use of infinitive phrase; see to, do¹, ado

Synonym study

See ado.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for to-do

Contemporary Examples

First on the to-do list, the profiling exercises to help the Western masses understand the nature of the wretched beast.
ISIS and BS
Amal Ghandour
October 15, 2014
Most of us are busy enough without adding yet another item to our to-do lists each day.
Self-Tracking for N00bz
Jamie Todd Rubin
July 24, 2014
Tally up those active minutes while crossing off your to-do list.
7 FitBit Hacks to Burn More Calories in 2014
Megan Humphreys
January 6, 2014
As we near the conclusion of 2013, the organization just announced its to-do list for the new year.
These Are The 5 Scary Health Threats The CDC Will Tackle In 2014
Brandy Zadrozny
December 16, 2013
If we can check those three things off on our to-do list, we will experience a deep sense of meaning.
Donald Miller, Christian Iconoclast
Joshua DuBois
May 19, 2013

Historical Examples

If she gits a premium for puttin' up gardin-sass, I'll warrant there'll be a to-do.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
Emma Torrance flings open the door grandly, and we learn what all the to-do is about.
Echoes of the War
J. M. Barrie
And I must laugh to see my neighbours making a to-do about a mercantile bargain.
Gilian The Dreamer
Neil Munro
But on leaving we were met by the farmer, who made a to-do, charging us with trespassing.
Memoirs
Charles Godfrey Leland
Wal, there was an awful row and a to-do about it, you may be sure.
Oldtown Fireside Stories
Harriet Beecher Stowe

British Dictionary definitions for to-do

to-do

noun plural -dos

a commotion, fuss, or quarrel

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 to-do

n.

1570s, from the verb phrase to do, from Old English to don "proper or necessary to be done" (see to). Meaning "disturbance, fuss" is first recorded 1827.

to-do

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}to-do

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for to-do

Contemporary Examples

First on the to-do list, the profiling exercises to help the Western masses understand the nature of the wretched beast.

Most of us are busy enough without adding yet another item to our to-do lists each day.

Tally up those active minutes while crossing off your to-do list.

As we near the conclusion of 2013, the organization just announced its to-do list for the new year.

If we can check those three things off on our to-do list, we will experience a deep sense of meaning.

Historical Examples

If she gits a premium for puttin' up gardin-sass, I'll warrant there'll be a to-do.

Emma Torrance flings open the door grandly, and we learn what all the to-do is about.

And I must laugh to see my neighbours making a to-do about a mercantile bargain.

But on leaving we were met by the farmer, who made a to-do, charging us with trespassing.

Wal, there was an awful row and a to-do about it, you may be sure.

to-do

Word Origin and History for to-do

n.

Origin of to-do