do: Meaning and Definition of

do

Pronunciation: (dunstressedd&oobreve, d&schwa), [key]
— v. auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. 2nd 3rd pres. pl. past sing. 1st pers. 2nd 3rd past pl. past part. pres. part. n., pl. do, do do•est dost, does do•eth doth, do did, did didst, did, did done do•ing dos, do's.
—v.t.
  1. to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.): Do nothing until you hear the bell.
  2. to execute (a piece or amount of work): to do a hauling job.
  3. to accomplish; finish; complete: He has already done his homework.
  4. to put forth; exert: Do your best.
  5. to be the cause of (good, harm, credit, etc.); bring about; effect.
  6. to render, give, or pay (homage, justice, etc.).
  7. to deal with, fix, clean, arrange, move, etc., (anything) as the case may require: to do the dishes.
  8. to travel; traverse: We did 30 miles today.
  9. to serve; suffice for: This will do us for the present.
  10. to condone or approve, as by custom or practice: That sort of thing simply isn't done.
  11. to travel at the rate of (a specified speed): He was doing 80 when they arrested him.
  12. to make or prepare: I'll do the salad.
  13. to serve (a term of time) in prison, or, sometimes, in office.
  14. to create, form, or bring into being: She does wonderful oil portraits.
  15. to translate into or change the form or language of: MGM did the book into a movie.
  16. to study or work at or in the field of: I have to do my math tonight.
  17. to explore or travel through as a sightseer: They did Greece in three weeks.
  18. (used with a pronoun, as it or that, or with a general noun, as thing, that refers to a previously mentioned action): You were supposed to write thank-you letters; do it before tomorrow, please.
  19. to wear out; exhaust; tire: That last set of tennis did me.
  20. to cheat, trick, or take advantage of: That crooked dealer did him for $500 at poker.
  21. to attend or participate in: Let's do lunch next week.
  22. to use (a drug or drugs), esp. habitually: The police report said he was doing cocaine.
—v.i.
  1. to act or conduct oneself; be in action; behave.
  2. to rob; steal from: The law got him for doing a lot of banks.
  3. to proceed: to do wisely.
  4. to get along; fare; manage: to do without an automobile.
  5. to be in health, as specified: Mother and child are doing fine.
  6. to serve or be satisfactory, as for the purpose; be enough; suffice: Will this do?
  7. to finish or be finished.
  8. to happen; take place; transpire: What's doing at the office?
  9. (used as a substitute to avoid repetition of a verb or full verb expression): I think as you do.
—auxiliary v.
  1. (used in interrogative, negative, and inverted constructions): Do you like music? I don't care. Seldom do we witness such catastrophes.
  2. (used in imperatives with you or thou expressed; and occasionally as a metric filler in verse): Do thou hasten to the king's side. The wind did blow, the rain did fall.
  3. (used to lend emphasis to a principal verb): Do visit us!
  4. See(def. 27).
    1. to put an end to; abolish.
    2. to kill.
  5. to deal with; treat: He had always done well by his family.
    1. to cause the defeat, ruin, or death of.
    2. Chiefly Brit.to cook and keep house for; manage or provide for.
  6. The tropical climate did them in.
    1. to kill, esp. to murder.
    2. to injure gravely or exhaust; wear out; ruin:The tropical climate did them in.
    3. to cheat or swindle:He was done in by an unscrupulous broker.
  7. See(def. 11).
  8. See(def. 28).
  9. ()See (def. 17).
  10. to make a supreme effort.
  11. to swindle; cheat: A furniture store did me out of several hundred dollars.
  12. to redecorate.
  13. to serve a term in prison: It's hard to get a decent job once you've done time.
  14. See(def. 15).
  15. Do up your coat.
    1. to wrap and tie up.
    2. to pin up or arrange (the hair).
    3. to renovate; launder; clean.
    4. to wear out; tire.
    5. to fasten:Do up your coat.
    6. to dress:The children were all done up in funny costumes.
  16. to gain advantage or benefit from; make use of: I could do with more leisure time.
  17. The store doesn't have any, so you'll have to do without.
    1. to forgo; dispense with.
    2. to dispense with the thing mentioned:The store doesn't have any, so you'll have to do without.
  18. See(def. 36).
  19. to get along with what is at hand, despite its inadequacy: I can't afford a new coat so I have to make do with this one.
—n.
  1. a burst of frenzied activity; action; commotion.
  2. a hairdo or hair styling.
  3. a swindle; hoax.
  4. a festive social gathering; party.
  5. customs, rules, or regulations: The dos and don'ts of polite manners are easy to learn.

do

Pronunciation: (dō), [key]
— pl. dos.
  1. the syllable used for the first tone or keynote of a diatonic scale.
  2. (in the fixed system of solmization) the tone C. Cf. sol-fa (def. 1),

do.

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. ditto.

D/O

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. delivery order.

D.O.

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. direct object.
  2. Doctor of Optometry.
  3. Doctor of Osteopathy.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also:
  • do (Thesaurus)