do

present singular third person does · participle present doing · past did · participle past done · first person past singular did · archaic present second person singular doest · archaic present second person singular dost · past second person singular did · archaic past second person singular didst · present singular third person does · archaic present singular third person doeth · archaic present singular third person doth · past singular third person did · past plural did · past subjunctive did · participle present doing

1. A syntactic marker.
   1. auxiliaryA syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be.

      Do you go there often?

   2. auxiliaryA syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods.

      Do not listen to him.

      2 more examples

      I do not go there often.

      “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.

      1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 51

   3. auxiliaryA syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.

      Do tell us.

      5 more examples

      But I do go sometimes.

      Boy, did I make a mistake!

      That's not true: I always do say please and thank-you.

      So who did marry the Princess in the end?

      “I don't know how you and the ‘head,’ as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. […]”

      1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

   4. auxiliarypro-verbA syntactic marker that refers back to an earlier verb and allows the speaker to avoid repeating the verb; in most dialects, not used with auxiliaries such as be, though it can be in AAVE.

      I play tennis; she does too.

      4 more examples

      Likes her cappuccino, Mary does. (UK, colloquial)

      Your remarks piqued my curiosity, as it did my mom's too.

      They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

      Don't be a naughty baby, / Come to papa, come to papa, do! / My sweet embraceable you.

      1930, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Embraceable You

   5. auxiliaryinformalinterrogativemodalShould; ought to (especially in respect of a task to be repeated).

      Do I just call every number on the list each time?

      Synonyms: should

   6. auxiliarydialectalUsed to form the present progressive of verbs.

      ...An' the dogs do bark, an' the rooks be a-vled to the elems high and dark, an' the water do roar at mill.

      1844, William Barnes, “Evenén in the Village”, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect

2. transitiveTo perform; to execute.

   If you want something done, do it yourself.

   3 more examples

   All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon?

   I love doing puzzles, especially crosswords, but lately I've taken to sudokus too.

   The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",[…]and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.

   2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 48

   Synonyms: accomplish, carry out, functionate

3. obsoletetransitiveTo cause or make (someone) (do something).

   Emongſt the reſt a wicked maladie / Raign’d emongſt men, that manie did to die,[…]

   1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC

   3 more examples

   And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do shewe to me late, certayn euydences wryton in olde englysshe […];

   My lord the abbot of Westminster recently brought to my attention some specimens of Old English text […]

   1490, William Caxton, “Prologue”, in Eneydos; republished as Caxton's Eneydos, London: Early English Text Society, 1890, page 2

   Sometimes to do him laugh, ſhe would aſſay / To laugh at ſhaking off the leaues light, / Or to behold the water worke […]

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 7, page 258

   MOreouer, brethren, wee do you to wit [i.e. we make you to know] of the grace of God beſtowed on the Churches of Macedonia,[…]

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 8:1, column 1

4. ambitransitiveTo suffice.

   make it do or do without

   3 more examples

   it’s not the best broom, but it will have to do; this will do me, thanks.

   “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 51

   "Here," she said, "take your old Bunny! He'll do to sleep with you!" And she dragged the Rabbit out by one ear, and put him into the Boy's arms.

   1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

5. intransitiveTo be reasonable or acceptable.

   It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.

   1 more example

   At last you spot a tempura stand. Not quite what you had in mind, but it'll do.

   2009, Tim Thornton, The Alternative Hero, Random House, →ISBN, page 4

6. ditransitiveTo have (as an effect).

   The fresh air did him some good.

7. intransitiveTo fare, perform (well or poorly).

   Our relationship isn't doing very well; how do you do?

   1 more example

   Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

   2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845

   1. EnglandespeciallyintransitiveTo fare well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.

      A big framed beast takes a lot of food — expensive food at that [—] to keep it doing […]

      1908 September 21, “The fattening beast”, in Mark Lane Express Agricultural Journal, page 340

      1 more example

      That farm would go like a rick a-fire. It would do: it would go forward and prosper and make him his money.

      1971, George Ewart Evans, quoting ploughman Charles Last (born 1878), Tools of Their Trades: An Oral History of Men at Work c. 1900, Taplinger Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 68

8. transitiveTo have as one's job.

   What does Bob do? — He's a plumber.

   1 more example

   "What did you do in the States?" I asked him. "National Security Agency."

   1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 604

9. transitiveTo perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).

   Don't forget to do your report!

10. transitiveTo cook.

    I'll just do some eggs.

    3 more examples

    It seemed, from his account, that he was very good at doing scrambled eggs.

    1889, Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat […]

    We went down below, and the galley-slave did some ham and eggs, and the first lieutenant, who was aged 19, told me about Sicily, and time went like a flash.

    1944, “News from the Suburbs”, in Punch

    Next morning, they woke about ten o'clock, Kev, went for a shower while Alice, did some toast, put the kettle on, and when he came out, she went in.

    2005, Alan Tansley, The Grease Monkey, page 99

    Synonyms: cook

11. transitiveTo travel in or through, to tour, to make a circuit of.

    Let’s do New York also.

    4 more examples

    We 'did' London to our hearts' content,—thanks to Fred and Frank,—and were sorry to go away; […]

    1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Our Foreign Correspondent”, in Little Women: […], 2nd part, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 115

    After doing Paris and its suburbs, I started for London […]

    1892, James Batchelder, Multum in Parvo: Notes from the Life and Travels of James Batchelder, page 97

    No tourist can get credit for seeing America first without doing New York, the Wonderful Town, the Baghdad-on-Hudson, the dream in the eye of the Kansas hooker […]

    1968 July 22, Ralph Schoenstein, “Nice Place to Visit”, in New York Magazine, page 28

    We got to travel the globe. We did Asia. That's what they say, isn't it? "Did." You know, the globetrotters. Palin. Alan Whicker. We did China. We did Malaysia. Kathmandu was very much a case of Kathman-did.

    2025, Tim Key and Tom Basden, The Ballad of Wallis Island, spoken by Charles (Tim Key)

12. transitiveTo treat in a certain way.

    "Why you gonna do me like that?" I ask. "Do what?" "Dog me."

    1994, Jervey Tervalon, Understand This, →ISBN, page 50

    3 more examples

    They did me well, I assure you—uncommon well: Bollinger of '84; green chartreuse fit for a prince; […]

    1894, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 87, page 59, column 1

    Upon my word, although he [my host] certainly did me uncommonly well, I began to feel I'd be more at ease among the bushmen.

    1928, Dorothy L[eigh] Sayers, “The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”, in Lord Peter Views the Body

    Christmas, why you gotta do me like this / I always embraced you / Held you close inside my heart

    2023, “Christmas, Why You Gotta Do Me Like This”, performed by Eels

13. transitiveTo work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.

    The woman-who-did did not do very well, Juliet thought.

    2018, Kate Atkinson, Transcription, →ISBN, page 291

14. intransitiveobsoleteTo act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.

    Vnto this day they doe after the former manners: they feare not the Lord, neither doe they after their Statutes, or after their Ordinances, or after the Law and Commaundement which the Lord commaunded the children of Iacob, whom hee named Iſrael,[…]

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 17:34, column 2

15. transitiveTo spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)

    I did five years for armed robbery.

    Synonyms: serve

16. transitiveTo impersonate or depict.

    They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer.

    Synonyms: imitate, personate, take off

17. placetransitiveusuallyeventTo copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.

    He was planning to do a 9/11.

    1 more example

    He did a Henry VIII and got married six times.

18. slangtransitiveTo kill.

    He's gonna do me, Jarvis. I kid you not, this time he's gonna do me proper.

    2004, Patrick Stevens, Politics Is the Greatest Game: A Johannesburg Liberal Lampoon, →ISBN, page 314

    3 more examples

    Case pulled the .22 out of his pocket and levelled it at Wage's crotch. “I hear you wanna do me.”

    1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 22

    About a year ago, a boy name Brandon got got here in Baltimore. Stuck and burned before he passed. […] Wasn't no need for y'all to do him the way y'all did.

    2003 August 17, George Pelecanos, “Bad Dreams” (43:27 from the start), in The Wire, season 2, episode 11 (television production), spoken by Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), via HBO

    The order came and I did him right there. The bullet went right where it was supposed to go.

    2007, E.J. Churchill, The Lazarus Code, page 153

    Synonyms: do in, murder, off, rub out, annihilate, bag, baptize, bereave of life

19. slangtransitiveTo deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.

    Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, […] or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him.

    1870, Charles Reade, Put Yourself in His Place

20. informaltransitiveTo punish for a misdemeanor.

    He got done for speeding.

    1 more example

    Teacher'll do you for that!

21. slangtransitiveTo have sex with. (See also do it)

    […] one day I did her on the kitchen table, and several times on the dining-room table.

    1996, James Russell Kincaid, My Secret Life, page 81

    2 more examples

    Deme[trius]. Villaine vvhat haſt thou done? / A[aron]. That vvhich thou canſt not vndoe. / Chiron. Thou haſt vndone our mother. / Aron. Villaine I haue done thy mother.

    c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, […], published 1594, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], signatures G2, verso – G3, recto

    The uninhibited woman within wanted to do him right there on the countertop, but I remained composed.

    2008, Donna Hill, On the Line, page 84

    Synonyms: go to bed with, sleep with, Formal terms, bed, coit, coitize, dight, enjoy

    1. reflexiveslangtransitiveTo masturbate.

       I got horny from his nudes and ended up doing myself to them.

       Synonyms: go to bed with, sleep with, Formal terms, bed, coit, coitize, dight, enjoy

22. transitiveTo cheat or swindle.

    That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks!

    1 more example

    He was not to be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent.

    1852, Thomas De Quincey, Sir William Hamilton

    Synonyms: defraud, diddle, mug off, rip off, scam, abuse, beglammer, counterfeit

23. transitiveTo convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.

    the novel has just been done into English; I'm going to do this play into a movie

24. ambitransitiveTo finish.
25. transitivebusinessTo cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
26. ditransitiveinformalTo make or provide.

    Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup?

    Synonyms: furnish, give, supply, accord, add, assign, award, bestow

27. informaltransitiveTo provide as a service.

    Do they do haircuts there?

    Synonyms: give, accord, add, assign, award, bestow, bequeath, confer

28. informaltransitiveTo injure (one's own body part).

    "Defender Kolo Toure admitted Given will be a loss, but gave his backing to Nielsen. 'I think he's done his shoulder,' said the Ivorian."

    2010 April 24, “Given stretchered off with suspected broken shoulder”, in The Irish Times, retrieved 21 Jul 2015

    2 more examples

    "Watto will spend the entire winter stretching and doing Pilates, and do a hamstring after bending down to pick up his petrol cap after dropping it filling his car at Caltex Cronulla."

    2014 April 14, Matt Cleary, “What do Australia's cricketers do on holiday?”, in ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 21 Jul 2015

    "'I knew straight away I'd done my ACL, I heard the sound - it was very loud and a few of the boys said they heard it as well,' Otten said."

    2014 August 13, Harry Thring, “I knew straight away I'd done my ACL: Otten”, in AFL.com.au, retrieved 21 Jul 2015

29. transitiveTo take (a drug).

    I do cocaine.

30. transitiveTo exist with a purpose or for a reason.

    What's that car doing in our swimming pool?

31. informaltransitiveTo drive a vehicle at a certain speed, especially in regard to a speed limit.

    He was doing 50 [miles per hour] in a school zone.

32. adjectiveverbTo perform something suggested by a following noun, verb, or adjective.

    did a listen do someone a frighten doing her a cute

    4 more examples

    Is your significant other doing you a heckin distress?

    2017 August 9, Tasnim Odrika, “How to deal with trust issues in a relationship”, in The Daily Star, Dhaka, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2017

    When they stick out their tongues, they're doing a mlem, a blep, a blop. They bork. They boof.

    2017 December 11, Jessica Boddy (for NPR), "Dogs are Doggos", in What Do You Meme, page 21

    Woof woof! I’m the goodest boi! I will do you all a protecc (in exchange for yummy treats and full medical, dental, and vision care).

    2018, “The Understew”, in Brain Stew, number 13, Pierre Laclede Honors College

    hey there hope ya dont mind if I do a cronch (I luv the house salad) […] henlo mom / doin a heckin picturesque / the cuter i look / the more treatos i consume

    2020, Doing Things Media, Doggos Doing Things: The Hilarious World of Puppos, Borkers, and Other Good Bois, Running Press, →ISBN

plural dos · plural do's · plural uncommon doos · alternative Northumbria de · alternative Northumbria dee

1. UKinformalA party, celebration, social function; usually of moderate size and formality.

   We’re having a bit of a do on Saturday to celebrate my birthday.

   3 more examples

   She was into French cuisine but I ain't no Cordon Bleu / This was at some do in Palmers Green, I had no luck with her

   1980, Jona Lewie, Keef Trouble, “You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties”, performed by Jona Lewie

   A gross-gutted, bulb-nosed, bourbon-stanky Boston flatfoot in plain clothes wrinkled white sox, with a race track tip-sheet stuffed in his back pocket trying real hard to mingle unnoticed at an elegant Buddies "do" to glean inside-dope.

   1980 December 13, Mitzel, “Dale Barbre's Murder Transformed”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 21, page 13

   […]; this aside, though, neon forever the moniker of trash, this is a posh do, in an opera house full of folk in tuxes.

   2013 September 13, Russell Brand, “Russell Brand and the GQ awards”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: get-together, bash, blowout, gala, get-together, knees-up, partay, party

2. abbreviationclippinginformalClipping of hairdo.

   Nice do!

   2 more examples

   I don't like to spend time on my hairstyle, so I usually just wear a do-rag.

   I like the new do.

   2012, Hannah Richell, The Secrets of the Tides, →ISBN, page 464

3. chiefly fossilizedSomething that can or should be done.

   Don’t forget the dos and don’ts.

   1 more example

   With the coming of Monday arrived a new life for David—a curious life full of "don'ts" and "dos."

   1916, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter VIII, in Just David

   Antonyms: don't

4. obsoletefossilized in the UKSomething that has been done.

   "How come you quit?" "I'm moving to London." "Fair dos."

5. archaicAdo; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument.

   A great deal of do, and a great deal of trouble.

   1689, John Selden, Table Talk

   Synonyms: to-do

6. UKobsoleteslangA cheat; a swindler.
7. UKobsoleteslangAn act of swindling; a fraud or deception.
8. UKslangA homicide.

   Get it done, no not properly Them man thought that they got me True, I came back like a fucking zombie Attempted do with the ching Have an opp boy say “please don’t chong me!”

   2020 December 4, “No fibs” (1:34 from the start), in (Zone 2) Karma × Trizzac (lyrics), Demented

plural dos · alternative doh · alternative Do

1. entertainmentA syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale.

   Synonyms: ut

alternative do.

1. abbreviationarchaicnot comparableAbbreviation of ditto.

   Michael Higgins, 51, Back lane / John Mulligan, 53, do

   1862 October 23, “The O'Connell National Statue”, in The Freeman's Journal, Dublin, page 2

   1 more example

   Softest flowers, .. J. P. Robson, 335 / Stars of Hartlepool, .. do 356

   [1849], “Contents”, in J[oseph] P[hilip] Robson, editor, Songs of the Bards of the Tyne; or, A Choice Selection of Original Songs Chiefly in the Newcastle Dialect. […], Newcastle upon Tyne: […] P. France & Co., […], →OCLC, page 14

1. The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.

plural DOs

1. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablegrammarInitialism of direct object.
2. UScountableuncountablea Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
3. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablesciencesInitialism of dissolved oxygen.
4. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountabledentistryInitialism of disto-occlusal.
5. Hong KongabbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of district officer.