DIY

D2I1Y4
UK/ˌdi.aɪˈwaɪ/

verb

To perform oneself a task usually relegated to an expert.

“Do you know where I could find a DIY pipe repair kit?”

Opposite
CommonScrabble 7

Meanings

nounDIY (usually uncountable, plural DIYs)

plural DIYs

  1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableusuallyInitialism of do it yourself.

    According to market research, many men list DIY as one of their main hobbies.

    1990, David Cohen, Being a Man

    Antonyms: DIFM

verbDIY (third-person singular simple present DIYs, present participle DIYing or DIY-ing, simple past and past participle DIYed)

present singular third person DIYs · participle present DIYing · participle present DIY-ing · participle past DIYed · past DIYed

  1. To perform oneself a task usually relegated to an expert.

    Ukrainian civilians have been DIY-ing hedgehogs, welding two bars or beams at an angle to make a cross and then adding a third to ensure it holds its shape even if it's knocked over.

    2022 March 21, Bill Chappell, “SWIFT, hedgehog, MiG: Here's a guide to the terms of war in Ukraine”, in SPECIAL SERIES: Ukraine invasion — explained, NPR, retrieved 21 Mar 2022
    1 more example

    2007 [publication date], Maggie Bullock, "Home Improvement", Elle, January 2008 ed., page 108, Huber was a physicist. Even top Estée Lauder chemists who took over for Huber in 1995 found that... any attempt to cheat on his original formula produced disappointing results, which demands the question: If they couldn't DIY, can you?

adjectiveDIY (comparative more DIY, superlative most DIY)

comparative more DIY · superlative most DIY

  1. Do-it-yourself.

    Do you know where I could find a DIY pipe repair kit?

    3 more examples

    The product knowledge of salespeople is very high, which enables them to serve the demanding customer groups such as professional painters and builders, in addition to the usual DIY consumers.

    2008, Sami Finne, Hanna Sivonen, chapter 4, in The Retail Value Chain: How to Gain Competitive Advantage through Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) Strategies, page 154

    That is more DIY, more punk, anyway.

    2016, Michael Croland, Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk: Jews and Punk

    A temple abbot who used a DIY guillotine to behead himself in hope of attaining enlightenment might have misinterpreted some things along the way, Thailand’s religious authorities said yesterday.

    2021 April 19, “Thai monk who beheaded himself with guillotine to reach nirvana may have been misguided: Buddhist authority”, in Coconuts Bangkok, Bangkok: Coconuts, retrieved 20 Apr 2021

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Translations

Chinese Mandarin DIY
  • DIYdo it yourself
Danish gør-det-selv
  • gør-det-selvof or pertaining to do it yourself
Dutch doe-het-zelf
  • doe-het-zelfof or pertaining to do it yourself
Esperanto memfari, fari ĝin mem
  • memfariTranslations
  • fari ĝin memTranslations
Estonian tee-ise
  • tee-iseof or pertaining to do it yourself
Finnish TSI, tehdä itse (jotain)
  • TSIdo it yourself
  • tehdä itse (jotain)Translations
  • tee-se-itseof or pertaining to do it yourself
French DIY, bricoler
  • DIYdo it yourself
  • bricolerTranslations
German DIY, selber machen
  • DIYdo it yourself
  • selber machenTranslations
  • selbst machenTranslations
Hungarian barkácsol, fúr-farag
  • barkácsolTranslations
  • fúr-faragTranslations
  • barkács-of or pertaining to do it yourself
Italian DIY, fai da te
  • DIYdo it yourself
  • fai da teof or pertaining to do it yourself
Polish majsterkować, pomajsterkować
  • majsterkowaćTranslations
  • pomajsterkowaćTranslations
Russian смастери́ть, своими руками
  • смастери́ть (smasterítʹ)Translations
  • своими руками (svoimi rukami)of or pertaining to do it yourself
Spanish hacerlo sí mismo, bricolar
  • hacerlo sí mismoTranslations
  • bricolarTranslations
  • bricoladoof or pertaining to do it yourself
  • hecho sí mismoof or pertaining to do it yourself
Swedish gör-det-själv-
  • gör-det-själv-of or pertaining to do it yourself

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with DIY

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

DIY. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DIY

MLA

“DIY.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DIY. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “DIY,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DIY.

Source: DIY on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.