well-done
Americanadjective
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performed accurately and diligently; executed with skill and efficiency.
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(of meat) thoroughly cooked, especially until all redness is gone.
adjective
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(of food, esp meat) cooked thoroughly
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made or accomplished satisfactorily
Etymology
Origin of well-done
Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200
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.
Sundance picks often rhyme, as was evident in two well-done black comedies about high-school students who put on wildly inappropriate plays.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
I like things well-done, which no one likes to hear, but it’s the reality.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025
“It’s a very well-done study that convincingly shows there is a tonsil-like structure” in the fish, says immunologist and cell biologist Anna Huttenlocher of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who wasn’t connected to the research.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 31, 2023
After all, this was during my, "Excuse me, waiter, can you tell the chef to make my steak extra-extra-extra-extra well-done, because I sure would love to bite into a piece of leather?" days.
From Salon • Aug. 18, 2023
Cal knew now it was a job—a well-done job—and he was grateful.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
