do
Part of speech: verb
num
Morphological type: simple
Topics: business
finance
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”).
Inflected forms:
form: does
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: doing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: did
pos: verb
tags: past
form: done
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: do
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: do
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: did
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: do
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: doest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: dost
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: did
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: didst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: does
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: doeth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: doth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: did
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: do
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: did
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: do
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: did
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: do
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: doing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: done
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: de
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: dee
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Northumbria
Senses:
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: Do you go there often?
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: I do not go there often.
Do not listen to him.
“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.
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: But I do go sometimes.
Do tell us.
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. […]”
"Do stop it," said Susan; "it won't make things any better having a row between you two. Let's go and find Lucy."
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: I play tennis; she does too.
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.
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
informal
interrogative
modal
examples: Do I just call every number on the list each time?
gloss: A syntactic marker.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
dialectal
examples: ...An' the dogs do bark, an' the rooks be a-vled to the elems high and dark, an' the water do roar at mill.
gloss: To perform; to execute.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: If you want something done, do it yourself.
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.
gloss: To cause or make (someone) (do something).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do shewe to me late, certayn euydences wryton in olde englysshe […];
Sometimes to do him laugh, ſhe would aſſay / To laugh at ſhaking off the leaues light, / Or to behold the water worke […]
Emongſt the reſt a wicked maladie / Raign’d emongſt men, that manie did to die,[…]
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,[…]
gloss: To suffice.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
examples: make it do or do without
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.
"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.
gloss: To be reasonable or acceptable.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.
gloss: To have (as an effect).
pos: verb
tags: ditransitive
examples: The fresh air did him some good.
gloss: To fare, perform (well or poorly).
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Our relationship isn't doing very well; how do you do?
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.
gloss: To fare, perform (well or poorly).
pos: verb
tags: England
especially
intransitive
examples: A big framed beast takes a lot of food — expensive food at that [—] to keep it doing […]
That farm would go like a rick a-fire. It would do: it would go forward and prosper and make him his money.
gloss: To have as one's job.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: What does Bob do? — He's a plumber.
gloss: To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Don't forget to do your report!
gloss: To cook.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I'll just do some eggs.
It seemed, from his account, that he was very good at doing scrambled eggs.
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.
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.
gloss: To travel in or through, to tour, to make a circuit of.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Let’s do New York also.
We 'did' London to our hearts' content,—thanks to Fred and Frank,—and were sorry to go away; […]
After doing Paris and its suburbs, I started for London […]
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 […]
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.
gloss: To treat in a certain way.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: They did me well, I assure you—uncommon well: Bollinger of '84; green chartreuse fit for a prince; […]
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.
"Why you gonna do me like that?" I ask. "Do what?" "Dog me."
Christmas, why you gotta do me like this / I always embraced you / Held you close inside my heart
gloss: To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The woman-who-did did not do very well, Juliet thought.
gloss: To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: 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,[…]
gloss: To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I did five years for armed robbery.
gloss: To impersonate or depict.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer.
gloss: To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
pos: verb
tags: place
transitive
usually
examples: He did a Henry VIII and got married six times.
He was planning to do a 9/11.
gloss: To kill.
pos: verb
tags: slang
transitive
examples: Case pulled the .22 out of his pocket and levelled it at Wage's crotch. “I hear you wanna do me.”
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.
He's gonna do me, Jarvis. I kid you not, this time he's gonna do me proper.
The order came and I did him right there. The bullet went right where it was supposed to go.
gloss: To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
pos: verb
tags: slang
transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To punish for a misdemeanor.
pos: verb
tags: informal
transitive
examples: He got done for speeding.
Teacher'll do you for that!
gloss: To have sex with. (See also do it)
pos: verb
tags: slang
transitive
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.
[…] one day I did her on the kitchen table, and several times on the dining-room table.
The uninhibited woman within wanted to do him right there on the countertop, but I remained composed.
gloss: To cheat or swindle.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks!
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.
gloss: To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: the novel has just been done into English; I'm going to do this play into a movie
gloss: To finish.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
gloss: To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To make or provide.
pos: verb
tags: ditransitive
informal
examples: Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup?
gloss: To provide as a service.
pos: verb
tags: informal
transitive
examples: Do they do haircuts there?
gloss: To injure (one's own body part).
pos: verb
tags: informal
transitive
examples: "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."
"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."
"'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."
gloss: To take (a drug).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I do cocaine.
gloss: To exist with a purpose or for a reason.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: What's that car doing in our swimming pool?
gloss: To drive a vehicle at a certain speed, especially in regard to a speed limit.
pos: verb
tags: informal
transitive
examples: He was doing 50 [miles per hour] in a school zone.
gloss: To perform something suggested by a following noun, verb, or adjective.
pos: verb
tags: adjective
verb
examples: did a listen do someone a frighten doing her a cute
Is your significant other doing you a heckin distress?
When they stick out their tongues, they're doing a mlem, a blep, a blop. They bork. They boof.
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).
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
gloss: The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.
pos: num
Antonyms: don't
Derived words: a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
are you doing anything tomorrow
as you do
bedo
can-do
can do
can-do-ness
can do this all day
can do with
can't do right for doing wrong
could do
could do with
cute girls doing cute things
doability
do a bit of stiff
doable
do a Bradbury
do a bunk
do-acracy
do a land-office business
do-all
do a lot of work
do a Melba
do a never
do a number on
do a perish
do a power of good
do a Reggie Perrin
do a runner
do as I say and not as I do
do a slow burn
do away with
do-badder
do battle
do bears shit in the woods
do bird
do bits
do business
do by
do by half-measures
do by halves
do cartwheels
do cheetah flips
do credit
do down
do drugs
doer
do exactly what it says on the tin
doff
do fish swim
do for
do-funny
do good
do-gooder
do-gooderism
dogoodery
do-goodery
do-gooding
do-goodism
do gooseberry
do ill
do in
do-insertion
do it
do it brown
do-it-herselfer
do it to it
do it tough
do it up
do it up brown
do it yourself
do-it-yourself
do-it-yourselfer
do-it-yourselfism
do-it-yourself-ism
do-it-yourself-ness
do-it-yourselfness
do justice
do-little
do lunch
do me a favour
do me a lemon
do more harm than good
do-naught
done
do no harm
do not disturb
do not enter
do-nothing
do nothing
do-nothingism
do-nothingness
do not want
don't do anything I wouldn't do
don't mind if I do
do number one
do numbers
do number two
do-ocracy
do-ocratic
do-ocratically
do of
do off
do one's best
do one's bit
do one's block
do one's business
do one's damnedest
do one's darnedest
do one's duty
do one's ease
do one's easement
do oneself a mischief
do one's homework
do one's job
do one's nut
do one's own thing
do one's own time
do one's part
do one's stuff
do one's sums
do one's thing
do one's utmost
do one's worst
do-or-die
do or die
do out
do out of
do-over
do over
do porridge
do right by
do somebody wrong
do someone a frighten
do someone brown
do someone dirt
do someone dirty
do someone like that
do someone one better
do someone proud
do someone's bidding
do someone's business
do someone's dags
do someone's head in
do someone's heart good
do-support
do tell
do the dash
do the decent thing
do the deed
do the dirty on
do the dishes
do the Dutch
do the handsome thing
do the hard yards
do the honorable thing
do the honor
do the honors
do the honour
do the honours
do the honourable thing
do the impossible
do the job
do the laundry
do the mahi
do the math
do the most
do the nasties
do the nasty
do the needful
do the power of good
do the proper thing
do the right thing
do the rounds
do the talking
do the trick
do the washing-up
do time
do to death
do unto others
do unto others as you would have them do unto you
do up
dout
do violence to
do want
do well
do well by doing good
do well for oneself
do what
do what it says on the tin
do-while loop
do with
do with mirrors
do without
do wonders
do you
do you need an invitation
do you understand
dup
ease of doing business index
either do or die
fordo
fulldo
gods may do what cattle may not
honey-do list
honey do list
how are you doing
how do
how do ye do
how do you do
how do you sleep at night
howdy-do
how-d'ye-do
I do
I do declare
I do not know it
if I do say so myself
if it's the last thing I do
ill-doing
know what one is doing
let George do it
make do
make-do
make do and mend
make it do or do without
misdo
much good may it do someone
ne'er-do-well
never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
no can do
non-doing
not do someone any favors
not do someone any favours
nothing doing
not want to do that
one could do it in one's sleep
one's gotta do what one's gotta do
one's got to do what one's got to do
outdo
overdo
redo
send a boy to do a man's job
some mothers do have them
sudo
that does it
that'll do
that'll do it to you
that will do
the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must
they'll do it every time
those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it
till death do us part
till death us do part
to-do list
to do with
to what do I owe the pleasure
underdo
undo
up-do
updo
well-to-do
what are you doing
what can I do you for
what can one do
what can you do
what does that have to do with the price of corn
what does that have to do with the price of fish
what does that have to do with the price of tea in China
what do I care
what do I know
what-do-you-call-it
what do you do
what do you do for a living
what do you make the time
whatever you do
what is one to do
what it do
what's done cannot be undone
what should I do
what that mouth do
what time do you make it
what would Jesus do
where do you work
who are you and what have you done with someone
who do you think you are
will do
wrongdo
you do you
you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone
you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: a
lang: Arabic
word: هَل
roman: hal
lang: Arabic
word: أَ
roman: ʔa
lang: Basque
word: al
lang: Belarusian
word: ці
roman: ci
lang: Bulgarian
word: ли
roman: li
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 嗎 /吗
roman: ma
lang: Maore Comorian
word: saɓu
lang: Esperanto
word: ĉu
lang: Finnish
word: -ko
lang: Finnish
word: -kö
lang: German
word: tun
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἆρα
roman: âra
lang: Hebrew
word: הַאִם
roman: ha'ím
lang: Hindi
word: क्या
roman: kyā
lang: Irish
word: an
lang: Old Irish
word: in
lang: Japanese
word: か
roman: ka
lang: Judeo-Italian
word: סֵי
lang: Kankanaey
word: ay
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: gelo
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: aya
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: ma
lang: Latin
word: -ne
lang: Latin
word: -nam
lang: Mongolian
word: уу
roman: uu
lang: Mongolian
word: үү
roman: üü
lang: Iranian Persian
word: آیا
roman: âyâ
lang: Polish
word: czy
lang: Romanian
word: oare
lang: Russian
word: ли
roman: li
lang: Tagalog
word: ba
lang: Tamil
word: தானே
roman: tāṉē
lang: Thai
word: ไหม
roman: mǎi
lang: Turkish
word: mı
lang: Turkish
word: mi
lang: Turkish
word: mu
lang: Turkish
word: mü
lang: Ukrainian
word: чи
roman: čy
lang: Urdu
word: کْیا
roman: kyā
lang: Vietnamese
word: có phải ... không (là)
lang: Yiddish
word: צי
roman: tsi
lang: Catalan
word: anar
lang: Finnish
word: voida
lang: Finnish
word: pärjätä
lang: French
word: se débrouiller
lang: Italian
word: andare
lang: Portuguese
word: ir
lang: Russian
word: пожива́ть
roman: poživátʹ
lang: Spanish
word: ir
lang: Tamil
word: இரு
roman: iru
lang: Turkish
word: olmak
lang: Turkish
word: gitmek
lang: Catalan
word: fer
lang: Danish
word: gøre visit
lang: Danish
word: besøge
lang: Dutch
word: doen
lang: Dutch
word: bezoeken
lang: Finnish
word: käydä
lang: Russian
word: посеща́ть
roman: poseščátʹ
lang: Russian
word: посети́ть
roman: posetítʹ
lang: Swedish
word: besöka
lang: Danish
word: gå på
lang: Finnish
word: ottaa
lang: German
word: nehmen
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: gå på
lang: Portuguese
word: usar
lang: Russian
word: принима́ть
roman: prinimátʹ
lang: Russian
word: приня́ть
roman: prinjátʹ
lang: Swedish
word: gå på
lang: Tamil
word: எடு
roman: eṭu
lang: Turkish
word: uyuşturucu kullanmak