do

Less common meanings

7. 7
   good or harmverb

   With two objects, to have a particular effect on someone or something.

   A week by the sea will do her the world of good.

   The delay did the project no harm at all.

   UsageTwo objects: do someone good, do someone no harm, do her the world of good.

   Similarcause

8. 8
   treatverbtransitive

   To treat someone in a particular way, generously or badly.

   The hotel did us very well, with a free dinner on our last night.

   Don't do him like that, he was only trying to help.

   UsageWith well, it means generous treatment; with like that, unfair treatment: don't do me like that.

   Similartreat

   Note

   The meaning hangs on what follows the object. With well it means generous hospitality: a diner in Harper's New Monthly Magazine is done uncommon well with Bollinger, and a Dorothy L. Sayers narrator is done uncommonly well by his host in 1928. With like that or like this it becomes a complaint about mistreatment, as in Tervalon's why you gonna do me like that? and the Eels song Christmas, Why You Gotta Do Me Like This? Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Harper's New Monthly Magazine contains the quoted description of generous hospitality involving Bollinger. en.wiktionary.org
   • A narrator in a Dorothy L. Sayers story describes being treated 'uncommonly well' by his host. gutenberg.org
   • Jervey Tervalon's fiction contains 'Why you gonna do me like that?' en.wiktionary.org
   • Eels performs a song titled 'Christmas, Why You Gotta Do Me Like This'. eelstheband.com
9. 9
   verbcolloquialtransitive

   To provide something as a service or as part of one's trade.

   We do weddings but not funerals, the florist said.

   That shop does repairs while you wait.

   UsageThe subject can be a business or a person providing the service: we do weddings, she does repairs.

   Similargive, provide, supply, furnish, deliver

   Note

   This is the trade's view of the verb: a salon does haircuts and a florist does weddings, and the object is whatever is on offer.

10. 10
    be enoughverbtransitive or intransitive

    To be enough, suitable, or acceptable for a purpose, as in 'any box will do' or 'that simply won't do'.

    Any old box will do for the kittens.

    That old blanket will do to keep the puppy warm tonight.

    UsageWith will or would: any box will do, it'll have to do, this will do me.

    Similarsuffice, serve

11. 11
    jobverbtransitive

    To have as one's occupation, chiefly in questions.

    My brother wants to know what you do for a living.

    I never found out what he did before he retired.

    UsageWhat do you do? asks about someone's job; What are you doing? asks about this moment.

12. 12
    cookverbtransitive

    To cook or prepare food, usually something quick and simple, as in 'I'll do some eggs'.

    On Sunday mornings Dad does pancakes for the whole family.

    Shall I do a roast on Sunday?

    Similarmake, cook, prepare

    Note

    Breakfast is its natural home. Jerome K. Jerome's oarsman boasts of being very good at doing scrambled eggs in 1889, a galley hand does some ham and eggs in Punch in 1944, and in a 2005 novel someone does some toast while the kettle goes on. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Punch contains a 1944 example in which a galley hand cooks ham and eggs. en.wiktionary.org
    • The toast example describes someone preparing toast and putting the kettle on. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    work as cleanerverbtransitive

    To work for someone or on something by cleaning, caring for, or keeping it in order, often with for.

    The woman who did for them came on Tuesdays and Fridays.

    I do three houses on this street every week.

    UsageOften do for someone, meaning keep house for them: the woman who did for them.

    Similarclean

    Note

    Domestic work turned into a job description. The woman who did for a family cleaned and kept house for it, and the phrase hardened into a label. Kate Atkinson plays on that in 2018 with the woman-who-did did not do very well, setting the hyphenated title beside the faring sense of the same verb. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • To do for someone meant to work as their domestic servant. en.wiktionary.org
    • Atkinson uses the hyphenated domestic-worker label beside another sense of do; the sentence represents Juliet's thought. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted work, Kate Atkinson's Transcription, was first published in 2018. en.wikipedia.org
14. 14
    rule to follownouncountable

    Something that can or should be done, found mainly in the fixed phrase dos and don'ts.

    Every new employee gets a printed sheet of dos and don'ts for working in the lab.

    Her etiquette column covers the dos and don'ts of wedding gifts.

    UsageMostly in dos and don'ts, also spelled do's and don'ts.

    Oppositedon't

    Note

    It almost never turns up alone or in the singular, and it already sounded settled in Eleanor H. Porter's Just David (1916). Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Eleanor H. Porter wrote Just David, first published in 1916. en.wikipedia.org
    • Just David uses dos and don'ts as paired nouns for prescribed and prohibited actions. gutenberg.org
15. 15
    take drugsverbtransitive

    To take or use a drug, typically a recreational one.

    I don't do drugs and I don't drink.

    They did a lot of speed back then, he said.

    UsageUsually do drugs, do cocaine; take drugs means the same.

    Similartake, use

16. 16
    be somewhereverbtransitive

    To be in a place for some purpose or reason, used in the form be doing with a place, often to ask why.

    What was a letter from the bank doing in my brother's coat pocket?

    Nobody could explain what a seal was doing so far up the river.

    UsageMost often a question with be doing + place: What is this doing here?; to a person it can sound accusing.

17. 17
    have sexverbslangtransitive

    To have sexual intercourse with someone.

    People said she'd done him on the first date, but that wasn't true.

    He told the whole bar he was going to do her, and she left.

    UsageCrude; sleep with is the polite way to say it.

    Similarbed, bang, bone, have, mount

    Note

    Blunt slang, and older than it sounds. In Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, written around 1590, Chiron says thou hast undone our mother, and Aaron answers villain, I have done thy mother, a pun on undoing. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Titus Andronicus is a play by Shakespeare. rsc.org.uk
    • The approximate composition date is around 1590; this is not a first-publication date. en.wikipedia.org
    • Chiron says “Thou hast undone our mother.” rsc.org.uk
    • Aaron replies “Villain, I have done thy mother.” rsc.org.uk
    • The reply makes a sexual pun on undoing, as inferred from the dialogue and its context. folger.edu
18. 18
    serve timeverbtransitive

    To serve a period of time in prison.

    She did eighteen months and came out a different person.

    Most of them will do a couple of years at most.

    UsageUse do + a period of time, with for + the crime: did five years for robbery. Also do time.

    Similarserve

19. 19
    drive at speedverbcolloquialtransitive

    To drive a vehicle at a stated speed, often measured against the speed limit.

    The old van won't do more than sixty.

    She was doing ninety when the police pulled her over.

    UsageThe speed is the object: doing ninety, won't do more than sixty.

    Similargo (entry), reach, hit

20. 20
    impressionverbtransitive

    To impersonate or depict someone, as a comedian or mimic does.

    She does her old headmistress so well that the whole class collapses.

    Can you do a Scottish accent?

    UsageThe object is the person or the voice: she does her headmistress, do a Scottish accent.

    Similarimitate, impersonate

    Note

    The mimic's and comedian's use. The object is a person, and to do them is to perform their voice and manner, as with Clinton, his accent and his leer. Without an article it means imitation. Add a, as in doing a Henry VIII, and it means repeating what someone is famous for instead. Imitate and take off are close equivalents.

21. 21
    visit as touristverbtransitive

    To tour a place or make the circuit of its sights.

    We spent the week doing Rome on foot, from the Colosseum to the Vatican.

    You can't do the whole museum in an afternoon.

    UsageThe place follows do directly, with no preposition: do Rome, do Paris in three days.

    Similartour, visit, see, explore

    Note

    Here the verb turns a trip into a checklist: a city, a museum or a whole country becomes something to get through. Louisa May Alcott in 1869 still sets "did" London off in inverted commas, as though the usage were fresh. By 1968 a writer can say no tourist gets credit for seeing America without doing New York. It is the sense of performing a task applied to a map. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Alcott passage was first published in 1869, in Little Women, Part Second. archive.org
    • Alcott puts inverted commas around 'did' in the passage about touring London; the words occur in Amy's fictional letter. gutenberg.org
    • A 1968 writer says tourists cannot get credit for seeing America without doing New York. Wiktionary identifies Ralph Schoenstein's 'Nice Place to Visit', published on July 22, 1968. en.wiktionary.org
22. 22
    partynouncolloquialUKcountable

    A social occasion or celebration, usually neither very large nor very formal.

    The office do is on the last Friday before Christmas.

    They had a small do at the pub after the wedding.

    UsageCommon phrases include the office do and a leaving do. The plural is dos or do's.

    Similarparty, bash, shindig, get-together, blowout

23. 23
    hairstylenouncolloquialabbreviationclipping

    Informal clipping of hairdo, a hairstyle, especially a new or noticeable one.

    She came back from the salon with a completely new do.

    Her do had survived the wind better than mine.

    UsageOften with an adjective: a new do, nice do!; the plural is dos or do's.

    Note

    Hairdo with the hair cut off, leaving the second half to stand for the whole. It also forms compounds, as in do-rag, which is worn to protect a hairstyle. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Do is a clipping of hairdo, retaining its second part. en.wiktionary.org
    • Do-rag is a compound formed with do meaning hairdo. en.wiktionary.org
24. 24
    repeat famous actverbtransitive

    With a and a name, to repeat the behavior a person, place, or event is known for.

    He did a Cinderella and left the party at midnight.

    Nobody expected the 'unsinkable' startup to do a Titanic within a year.

    UsageCompare do Henry VIII (impersonate him) with do a Henry VIII (repeat behavior he is known for).

    Similarpull

    Note

    To do a Henry VIII means repeating his famous act of marrying six times, not mimicking him as in the impersonating sense. The name can be a person, a place or an event, so he was planning to do a 9/11 is also possible, and the shorthand can turn grim. The listener has to know the story the name stands for. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Henry VIII famously married six times. rmg.co.uk
25. 25
    injureverbcolloquialtransitive

    To injure one of one's own body parts.

    He'll do a hamstring if he doesn't warm up.

    She knew straight away she'd done her knee.

    UsageThe injured person is the subject, often in the perfect: I've done my knee, do a hamstring.

    Similarinjure, hurt, pull, damage

    Note

    Sports talk is its home ground. A defender says a teammate has done his shoulder, a cricketer is joked to do a hamstring picking up a petrol cap, and a footballer knew straight away he'd done his ACL. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Defender Kolo Toure said that teammate Shay Given had done his shoulder. en.wiktionary.org
    • A sporting humour piece predicts a cricketer doing a hamstring while picking up his petrol cap. en.wiktionary.org
    • Footballer Andy Otten said he knew straight away that he had done his ACL. afc.com.au
26. 26
    cheatverbtransitive

    To cheat or swindle someone, often with out of.

    The dealer did him out of a thousand dollars on the trade-in.

    That landlord will do you out of your whole deposit if you let him.

    UsageWith out of + what was lost: did me out of two hundred dollars; get done means be cheated.

    Similarcheat, swindle, defraud, scam, trick

    Note

    In the passive, being done means being taken in, as when De Quincey writes in 1852 that a man was not to be done by frivolous offers of a compromise. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • De Quincey wrote the passage describing a man refusing to be deceived by offers of a compromise. en.wiktionary.org
    • De Quincey's essay containing the passage was first published in 1852. en.wikipedia.org
27. 27
    SayDOHUS/doʊ/UK/dəʊ/

    music notenoununcountable

    In solfège, the syllable sung for the first note of a major scale (the tonic) in movable-do systems, or for the note C in fixed-do systems, followed by re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

    In movable do, the tonic of any key is sung as do.

    The director hummed do so the choir could find the key.

    Similarut

    Note

    A separate word from the verb, with a history of its own. In the 17th century an open syllable that was easier to sing replaced Guido of Arezzo's ut, a change traditionally credited to the Italian musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni. It is usually traced to Latin Dominus, "the Lord", though some suspect Doni was also abbreviating his own name. Ut is now the archaic equivalent. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The musical noun has a separate origin from the verb, which descends from Old English. en.wiktionary.org
    • Giovanni Battista Doni was an Italian music scholar. en.wikipedia.org
    • Do was an open-syllable replacement for Guido of Arezzo's ut, intended to be easier to sing. en.wiktionary.org
    • Latin Dominus, meaning the Lord, and an abbreviation of Doni's surname are reported explanations. en.wikipedia.org
28. 28
    ruinverbslangtransitive

    To deal with someone once and for all, or to ruin or undo them.

    The bookmakers made it clear that if he hadn't paid what he owed by Friday, they would do him.

    If the bank calls in the loan, that will do for us.

    Similarruin, finish, destroy

    Note

    Charles Reade's 1870 novel shows how dark this slang can be. Men lie in wait in dark streets, fracture a skull or cut the sinew of a wrist, and that they call doing him. Do for carries the same meaning. The sense also stretches to ruin that is not physical, as when a debt is said to do someone, but its menace makes it slang to use with care. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The referenced novel is Charles Reade's Put Yourself in His Place, first published in book form in 1870. archive.org
    • The novel describes these attacks and calls them doing him; the explanation occurs in Bayne's dialogue with Henry Little. gutenberg.org
29. 29
    punishverbcolloquialtransitive

    To punish someone for a minor offense, as the law or a teacher does.

    If they catch you, they'll do you for trespassing.

    My brother got done for parking on the pavement.

    UsageOften passive with for: got done for speeding.

    Similarnick, book, charge, fine

30. 30
    verbintransitive

    To act or conduct oneself in a particular manner.

    When you are a guest in another country, do as your hosts do.

    He did well to sell the farm before the drought.

    Similaract, behave

    Note

    In older English, do alone could mean to behave, often followed by after and a rule or custom: the King James Bible of 1611 says people do after the former manners. That construction is gone; today the meaning needs a word saying how, as in do as you are told. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • In older English, do could mean to behave or conduct oneself. en.wiktionary.org
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • The King James Bible describes people as doing after the former manners. gutenberg.org
31. 31
    verbtransitive

    To cover a stated distance or make a particular journey, or, of a vehicle, to have run up a given total mileage.

    Serious cyclists do sixty miles on a Saturday without thinking twice.

    The van had only done 30,000 miles when the transmission failed.

    UsageA distance is the object, do sixty miles; for a vehicle's total, often the perfect: had done 30,000 miles.

    Similarcover, travel

32. 32
    verbcolloquial

    In questions, should, especially when asking how to handle a task that will be repeated.
33. 33
    verbdialectal

    In some dialects, used before a main verb to show an action in progress, where standard English uses be with an -ing form.
34. 34
    verbobsolete

    To make or cause someone to perform an action.
35. 35
    verbEngland

    To grow and flourish, or of farm animals, to put on weight well.
36. 36
    verbslang

    To kill someone, especially on purpose.
37. 37
    verb

    To put something into another form, especially another language, as in a work rendered into English.
38. 38
    verb

    To pay cash for a bill of exchange or promissory note, or lend money against it.
39. 39
    nounobsolete

    A completed deed or action.
40. 40
    nounarchaic

    A fuss, commotion, or noisy disturbance, or a spell of confusion or quarreling.

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

    1689, John Selden, Table Talk
41. 41
    nounobsoleteUK

    A person who tricks others out of money, a con artist.
42. 42
    nounobsoleteUK

    A trick or scam used to cheat someone.
43. 43
    nounslangUK

    A killing, especially a murder.
44. 44
    adverbarchaic

    A written short form of ditto, used in lists to mean the same as above.

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

    1862, “The O'Connell National Statue”, in The Freeman's Journal