do

I. verb (did; done; doing; does) Etymology: Middle English don, from Old English dōn; akin to Old High German tuon to do, Latin -dere to put, facere to make, do, Greek tithenai to place, set Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to bring to pass ; carry out <

do another's wishes

> 2. put — used chiefly in do to death 3. a. perform, execute <

do some work

> <

did his duty

> b. commit <

crimes done deliberately

> 4. a. bring about, effect <

trying to do good

> <

do violence

> b. to give freely ; pay <

do honor to her memory

> 5. to bring to an end ; finish — used in the past participle <

the job is finally done

> 6. to put forth ; exert <

did her best to win the race

> 7. a. to wear out especially by physical exertion ; exhaust <

at the end of the race they were pretty well done

> b. to attack physically ; beat; also kill 8. to bring into existence ; produce <

do a biography on the general

> 9. — used as a substitute verb especially to avoid repetition <

if you must make such a racket, do it somewhere else

> 10. a. to play the role or character of b. mimic; also to behave like <

do a Houdini and disappear

> c. to perform in or serve as producer of <

do a play

> 11. to treat unfairly; especially cheat <

did him out of his inheritance

> 12. to treat or deal with in any way typically with the sense of preparation or with that of care or attention: a. (1) to put in order ; clean <

was doing the kitchen

> (2) wash <

did the dishes after supper

> b. to prepare for use or consumption; especially cook <

like my steak done rare

> c. set, arrange <

had her hair done

> d. to apply cosmetics to <

wanted to do her face before the party

> e. decorate, furnish <

did the living room in Early American

> <

do over the kitchen

> 13. to be engaged in the study or practice of <

do science

>; especially to work at as a vocation <

what to do after college

> 14. a. to pass over (as distance) ; traverse <

did 20 miles yesterday

> b. to travel at a speed of <

doing 55 on the turnpike

> 15. tour <

doing 12 countries in 30 days

> 16. a. to spend (time) in prison <

has been doing time in a federal penitentiary

> b. to serve out (a period of imprisonment) <

did ten years for armed robbery

> 17. to serve the needs of ; suit, suffice <

worms will do us for bait

> 18. to approve especially by custom, opinion, or propriety <

you oughtn't to say a thing like that…it's not done — Dorothy Sayers

> 19. to treat with respect to physical comforts <

did themselves well

> 20. use 3 <

doesn't do drugs

> 21. to have sexual intercourse with 22. to partake of <

let's do lunch

> intransitive verb 1. act, behave <

do as I say

> 2. a. get along, fare <

do well in school

> b. to carry on business or affairs ; manage <

we can do without your help

> 3. to take place ; happen <

what's doing across the street

> 4. to come to or make an end ; finish — used in the past participle 5. to be active or busy <

let us then be up and doing — H. W. Longfellow

> 6. to be adequate or sufficient ; serve <

half of that will do

> 7. to be fitting ; conform to custom or propriety <

won't do to be late

> 8. — used as a substitute verb to avoid repetition <

wanted to run and play as children do

> — used especially in British English following a modal auxiliary or perfective have <

a great many people had died, or would do — Bruce Chatwin

> 9. — used in the imperative after an imperative to add emphasis <

be quiet do

> verbal auxiliary 1. a. — used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in legal and parliamentary language <

do hereby bequeath

> and in poetry <

give what she did crave — Shakespeare

> b. — used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in declarative sentences with inverted word order <

fervently do we pray — Abraham Lincoln

>, in interrogative sentences <

did you hear that?

>, and in negative sentences <

we don't know

> <

don't go

> 2. — used with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses expressing emphasis <

I do say

> <

do be careful

> • doable adjective II. noun (plural dos or do's) Date: 1599 1. chiefly dialect fuss, ado 2. archaic deed, duty 3. a. a festive get-together ; affair, party b. chiefly British battle 4. a command or entreaty to do something <

a list of dos and don'ts

> 5. British cheat, swindle 6. hairdo III. noun Etymology: Italian Date: circa 1754 the first tone of the diatonic scale in solmization IV. abbreviation 1. ditto 2. double occupancy