an opportunity to do something again or repeat it, especially when it did not turn out well the first time.
I wish I could have a do-over of the past five years of my life.
a makeover, as a renovation or a beauty treatment: A do-over at the spa made me feel young again!
Enter the sweepstakes to win a full kitchen do-over with new granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
A do-over at the spa made me feel young again!
informal to renovate or redecorate
slang to beat up; thrash
Also, do something over.
Also, do over again . Repeat something, as in This setup won't work; I'll have to do it over again .
Redecorate, as in We've decided to do over the living room . [Early 1900s]
First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase do over
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It took more than three years of public pressure, multiple hearings, a dogged legislator and a regulator willing to reverse his predecessor to force a do-over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Patriots prodigy Drake Maye was left longing for a do-over after his first Super Bowl appearance ended in misery on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
Crowe’s do-over feature, in contrast, is anodyne and respectful; the band is even given room to refute some of the facts Lewis included in his story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
You must pay back any money you received, but the option for a do-over gives you a chance to increase your monthly benefit by waiting to claim.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
I wanted a do-over so I could do a better job expressing how thankful I was.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
And they recognized that Charlie, barely thirty years old when he was killed, was still learning and evolving, as we all do over the course of our lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
There is still a lot to do over the next few days, though, before SpaceX starts trading, likely on June 12.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Additionally, because concertina coils are rigid and stay under tension, they don’t ‘sag’ or create the loose, invisible snares that single-strand wires often do over time, which helps reduce the risk of accidental wildlife entanglement.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026
The “split to save” move is one of those clicking-the-buttons sessions that’s great to do over drinks with a motivated friend.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 13, 2026
“Can we please table this whole out-and-proud business? We’ll figure out what to do over the summer.”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
There’s no do-overs in the stock market, but with a fresh start, Phreesia could still prove to be a winner in 2026.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
Portraits and personas, like virtual selves, hold out the possibility of living again, of mulligans and do-overs, of lives lived free of consequence.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
But every athlete knows that when it comes to the big game, there are no do-overs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
Let him know that you know it’s a really tough time to try to launch into adulthood — and that we all need do-overs sometimes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 17, 2023
There’s no time-outs or do-overs, there’s just gravity.
From "Winger" by Andrew Smith
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.
