do
VERB · English
Experimental / limited support
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The corpus records 39 senses of do. Each sense below has its own Add to list, so you choose the one you mean.
Display information
Experimental coverage — measured below Partial on the number of recorded words, definitions, translations, word forms and pronunciation. Treat entries as evidence to check; meanings may be incomplete.
English is Experimental in Words. Support is measured, not declared: a language reaches Partial only when every measure meets its threshold, and a measure that has not been taken does not count. The development corpus holds 60 source-backed words in English. What is shown may be incomplete, and pronunciation audio, generated forms and generated examples are not offered.
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Definition: A syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be. From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Do you go there often? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods. From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I do not go there often. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Do not listen to him. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- “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:
-
Definition: A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods. From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- But I do go sometimes. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Do tell us. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Boy, did I make a mistake! Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- That's not true: I always do say please and thank-you. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- So who did marry the Princess in the end? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- “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:
- "Do stop it," said Susan; "it won't make things any better having a row between you two. Let's go and find Lucy." 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:
-
Definition: A 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. From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I play tennis; she does too. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Likes her cappuccino, Mary does. (UK, colloquial) Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Your remarks piqued my curiosity, as it did my mom's too. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- They don't think it be like it is, but it do. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Don't be a naughty baby, / Come to papa, come to papa, do! / My sweet embraceable you. 1930, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Embraceable You:
-
Definition: Should; ought to (especially in respect of a task to be repeated). From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary · informal · interrogative · modal
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Do I just call every number on the list each time? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: Used to form the present progressive of verbs. From a source of medium confidence.
auxiliary · dialectal
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- ...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:
-
Definition: To perform; to execute. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- If you want something done, do it yourself. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- I love doing puzzles, especially crosswords, but lately I've taken to sudokus too. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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:
-
Definition: To cause or make (someone) (do something). From a source of medium confidence.
obsolete · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
-
Definition: To suffice. From a source of medium confidence.
ambitransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- make it do or do without Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- it’s not the best broom, but it will have to do; this will do me, thanks. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- “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:
-
Definition: To be reasonable or acceptable. From a source of medium confidence.
intransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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:
-
Definition: To have (as an effect). From a source of medium confidence.
ditransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The fresh air did him some good. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To fare, perform (well or poorly). From a source of medium confidence.
intransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Our relationship isn't doing very well; how do you do? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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:
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Definition: To fare well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten. From a source of medium confidence.
England · especially · intransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
- 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:
-
Definition: To have as one's job. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- What does Bob do? — He's a plumber. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- "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:
-
Definition: To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something). From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Don't forget to do your report! Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To cook. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I'll just do some eggs. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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:
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Definition: To travel in or through, to tour, to make a circuit of. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Let’s do New York also. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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):
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Definition: To treat in a certain way. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
- "Why you gonna do me like that?" I ask. "Do what?" "Dog me." 1994, Jervey Tervalon, Understand This, →ISBN, page 50:
- 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:
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Definition: To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The woman-who-did did not do very well, Juliet thought. 2018, Kate Atkinson, Transcription, →ISBN, page 291:
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Definition: To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself. From a source of medium confidence.
intransitive · obsolete
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
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Definition: To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time) From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I did five years for armed robbery. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To impersonate or depict. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned. From a source of medium confidence.
place · transitive · usually
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- He did a Henry VIII and got married six times. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- He was planning to do a 9/11. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To kill. From a source of medium confidence.
slang · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
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Definition: To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for. From a source of medium confidence.
slang · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
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Definition: To punish for a misdemeanor. From a source of medium confidence.
informal · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- He got done for speeding. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Teacher'll do you for that! Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To have sex with. (See also do it) From a source of medium confidence.
slang · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- 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:
- […] 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:
- 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:
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Definition: To masturbate. From a source of medium confidence.
reflexive · slang · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I got horny from his nudes and ended up doing myself to them. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To cheat or swindle. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks! Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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:
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Definition: To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- the novel has just been done into English; I'm going to do this play into a movie Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To finish. From a source of medium confidence.
ambitransitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
-
Definition: To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
-
Definition: To make or provide. From a source of medium confidence.
ditransitive · informal
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To provide as a service. From a source of medium confidence.
informal · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Do they do haircuts there? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To injure (one's own body part). From a source of medium confidence.
informal · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- "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:
- "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:
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Definition: To take (a drug). From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- I do cocaine. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To exist with a purpose or for a reason. From a source of medium confidence.
transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- What's that car doing in our swimming pool? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To drive a vehicle at a certain speed, especially in regard to a speed limit. From a source of medium confidence.
informal · transitive
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- He was doing 50 [miles per hour] in a school zone. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
-
Definition: To perform something suggested by a following noun, verb, or adjective. From a source of medium confidence.
adjective · verb
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- did a listen do someone a frighten doing her a cute Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- 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. Usage example — not an attested quotation. 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:
No paradigm has been compiled for this word yet.
Etymology: From Middle English don, from Old English dōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do, make”). For senses 4 and 5, compare Old Norse duga, also Northern English dow. The past tense form is from Middle English didde, dude, from Old English dyde, *diede, an unexpected development from Proto-Germanic *dedǭ/*dedē (the expected reflex would be *ded), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰédʰeh₁ti, an athematic e-reduplicated verb of the same root *dʰeh₁-. The meaningless use of do in interrogative, negative, and affirmative sentences (e.g. "Do you like painting?" "Yes, I do"), existing in some form in most Germanic languages, is thought by some linguists to be one of the Brittonicisms in English, calqued from Brythonic. It is first recorded in Middle English, where it may have marked the perfective aspect, though in some cases the meaning seems to be imperfective. In Early Modern English, any meaning in such contexts was lost, making it a dummy auxiliary, and soon thereafter its use became mandatory in most questions and negations. Doublets include deed, deem, and -dom, but not deal. Other cognates include, via Latin, English feast, festival, fair (“celebration”), via Greek, English theo-, theme, thesis, and Sanskrit दधाति (dadhāti, “to put”), धातृ (dhātṛ, “creator”) and धातु (dhātu, “layer, element, root”). From a source of medium confidence.
No related word is recorded for this word.