do the right thing

verb

To do what is ethical or just.

“There was a lot of money in the wallet I found, but I did the right thing and handed it in.”

Similar
do the decent thingdo the honorable thingdo the proper thing
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Meanings

verbdo the right thing (third-person singular simple present does the right thing, present participle doing the right thing, simple past did the right thing, past participle done the right thing)

present singular third person does the right thing · participle present doing the right thing · past did the right thing · participle past done the right thing

  1. idiomaticset phraseTo do what is ethical or just.

    There was a lot of money in the wallet I found, but I did the right thing and handed it in.

    1 more example

    In the dispute with the RMT about scanning tickets, Jackson said it was the right thing to do to pay conductors something to scan tickets. Northern pays two pence per scan, Jackson noted, adding that ticket scanning helps to cut fraud and increase staff visibility.

    2024 February 7, Philip Haigh, “Network News: TPE MD: consider impact of strikes on passengers”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 11

    Synonyms: do the decent thing, do the honorable thing, do the proper thing

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo do what is ethical or just.

Similar
do the decent thingdo the honorable thingdo the proper thing
Also see
do the decent thingdo the honorable thingdo the proper thing

Translations

Basque egin zuzena izan
  • egin zuzena izanact ethically
Finnish toimia oikein
  • toimia oikeinact ethically
French faire la bonne chose, faire ce qu'il faut
  • faire la bonne choseact ethically
  • faire ce qu'il fautact ethically
  • faire ce qu'il fallaitact ethically
  • bien faireact ethically
Italian fare la cosa giusta
  • fare la cosa giustaact ethically
Polish postępować słusznie, postąpić słusznie
  • postępować słusznieact ethically
  • postąpić słusznieact ethically
  • postępować właściwieact ethically
  • postąpić właściwieact ethically
Portuguese fazer a coisa certa
  • fazer a coisa certaact ethically
Spanish hacer lo correcto
  • hacer lo correctoact ethically
Cite this entry
APA

do the right thing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20right%20thing

MLA

“do the right thing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20right%20thing. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do the right thing,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20right%20thing.

Source: do the right thing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.