From Middle English don, from Old English don, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-.

For senses 4 and 5, compare Old Norse duga, whence Danish du.

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.

Doublets include deed, deem, -dom, but not deal.

Other cognates include, via Latin, English feast, festival, fair ("celebration"), via Greek, English theo-, theme, thesis, and Sanskrit दधाति, धातृ ("creator") and धातु ("layer, element, root").

• (stressed) enPR: do͞o, IPA: /duː/
  • (British) IPA: /duː/
  • (America, Canada) IPA: /du/
  • (Australia, New Zealand) IPA: /dʉː/
• (unstressed, before a consonant) IPA: /də/
• (unstressed, before a vowel) IPA: /dʊ/
• (colloquial; for some speakers, when "do" is unstressed and the next word starts with /j/) IPA: /d͡ʒ/

do (does, present participle doing; simple past did, past participle done)

1. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker.
   1. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be.

      Do you go there often?

   2. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods.

      I do not go there often.

      Do not listen to him.

      • 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 ↗:

        “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.

   3. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.

      But I do go sometimes.

      Do tell us.

      • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:

        “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. […] ”

      • 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

        "Do stop it," said Susan; "it won't make things any better having a row between you two. Let's go and find Lucy."

   4. (pro-verb) 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.

      I play tennis; she does too.

      They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

      • 1930, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Embraceable You:

        Don't be a naughty baby,
        Come to papa, come to papa, do!
        My sweet embraceable you.

2. (transitive) To perform; to execute.

   Synonyms: accomplish, carry out, functionate

   If you want something done, do it yourself.

   All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon?

3. (obsolete, transitive) To cause, make (someone) (do something).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗, stanza 7, page 258 ↗:

     Sometimes to do him laugh, ſhe would aſſay / To laugh at ſhaking off the leaues light, / Or to behold the water worke […]

   • 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. ↗”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC ↗:

     Emongſt the reſt a wicked maladie / Raign’d emongſt men, that manie did to die, […]

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 2 Corinthians 8:1 ↗, column 1:

     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, […]

4. (intransitive, transitive) To suffice.

   it’s not the best broom, but it will have to do;  this will do me, thanks.

   • 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 ↗:

     “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.

5. (intransitive) To be reasonable or acceptable.

   It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.

6. (ditransitive) To have (as an effect).

   The fresh air did him some good.

7. (intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly).

   Our relationship isn't doing very well;  how do you do?

   1. (especially, England, intransitive) To fare#Verb well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.
8. (transitive, chiefly in questions) To have as one's job.

   What does Bob do? — He's a plumber.

9. To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).

   Don't forget to do your report!

10. To cook.

    Synonyms: Thesaurus:cook

    I'll just do some eggs.

    • 1889, Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat […] ‎:

      It seemed, from his account, that he was very good at doing scrambled eggs.

11. (transitive) To travel in, to tour, to make a circuit of.
    • 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Our Foreign Correspondent”, in Little Women: […], part second, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC ↗, page 115 ↗:

      We 'did' London to our hearts' content,—thanks to Fred and Frank,—and were sorry to go away; […]

    Let’s do New York also.

12. (transitive) To treat in a certain way.
13. (transitive) To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.
14. (intransitive, obsolete) To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 2 Kings 17:34 ↗, column 2:

      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, […]

15. (transitive) To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)

    Synonyms: serve

    I did five years for armed robbery.

16. (transitive) To impersonate or depict.

    Synonyms: imitate, personate, take off

    They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer.

17. (with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.

    He did a Henry VIII and got married six times.

    He was planning to do a 9/11.

18. (transitive, slang) To kill.

    Synonyms: do in, murder, off, rub out, Thesaurus:kill

    • 1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 22 ↗:

      Case pulled the .22 out of his pocket and levelled it at Wage's crotch. “I hear you wanna do me.”

19. (transitive, slang) To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
    • 1870, Charles Reade, Put Yourself in His Place:

      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.

20. (informal) To punish for a misdemeanor.

    He got done for speeding.

    Teacher'll do you for that!

21. (transitive, slang) To have sex with. (See also do it)

    Synonyms: go to bed with, sleep with, Thesaurus:copulate with

    • 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]:

      Deme. Villaine what haſt thou done?
      A. That which thou canſt not vndoe.
      Chiron. Thou haſt vndone our mother.
      Aron. Villaine I haue done thy mother.

22. (transitive) To cheat or swindle.

    Synonyms: defraud, diddle, mug off, rip off, scam, Thesaurus:deceive

    That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks!

    • 1852, Thomas De Quincey, Sir William Hamilton:

      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.

23. (transitive) To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.

    the novel has just been done into English;  I'm going to do this play into a movie

24. (transitive, intransitive) To finish.
25. (archaic, dialectal, transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the present progressive of verbs.
26. (stock exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
27. (informal, transitive, ditransitive) To make or provide.

    Synonyms: furnish, give, supply, Thesaurus:give

    Do they do haircuts there?

    Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup?

28. (informal, transitive) To injure (one's own body part).
29. (transitive) To take drugs.

    I do cocaine.

30. (transitive, in the form be doing [somewhere]) To exist with a purpose or for a reason.

    What's that car doing in our swimming pool?

31. (informal, transitive) To drive a vehicle at a certain speed, especially in regard to a speed limit.

    He was doing 50 [miles per hour] in a school zone.

• don't

see do/translations

do

1. (UK, informal) A party, celebration, social function; usually of moderate size and formality.

   Synonyms: get-together, Thesaurus:party

   We’re having a bit of a do on Saturday to celebrate my birthday.

2. (informal) Clip of hairdo

   Alternative form: 'do

   Nice do!

   I don't like to spend time on my hairstyle, so I usually just wear a do-rag.

3. (chiefly, fossilized) Something that can or should be done.

   Antonyms: don't

   Don't forget the dos and don'ts.

4. (chiefly, obsolete, fossilized in the UK) Something that has been done.

   "How come you quit?" "I'm moving to London." "Fair dos."

5. (archaic) Ado; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument.

   Synonyms: to-do

6. (obsolete, UK, slang) A cheat; a swindler.
7. (obsolete, UK, slang) An act of swindling; a fraud or deception.
8. (UK, slang) A homicide.

see do/translations

• (British) enPR: dō, IPA: /dəʊ/
• (America) enPR: dō, IPA: /doʊ/

do (plural dos)

1. (music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale.

   Synonyms: ut

see do/translations

Short for ditto.

do (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Abbreviation of ditto

Shortening of dozen.

• (British) enPR: dō, IPA: /dəʊ/
• (America) enPR: dō, IPA: /doʊ/

1. The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.

do

1. (grammar) a direct object
2. (US) a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
3. (science) dissolved oxygen
4. (dentistry) Initialism of disto-occlusal

• PhD
• LLD
• D.Eng.
• DASc
• DAS
• D.Sc.
• ScD
• D.A.
• D.M.A.
• D.F.A.