do
do Lexical Profile
do Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To perform, execute, or carry out an action, duty, or task.
"Students are expected to do their assigned reading before attending the seminar."
To serve as an auxiliary verb to form interrogative and negative clauses, lend emphasis to a main verb, or avoid repeating a preceding verb.
"She rarely attends evening lectures, but when she does, she takes thorough notes."
To be suitable, acceptable, or sufficient for a particular purpose or need.
"A brief summary of the financial report will do for tomorrow's preliminary meeting."
To fare, progress, or get along in a specified manner.
"The new software company is doing remarkably well in its first quarter of operation."
To clean, arrange, prepare, or style something to make it ready for use or presentation.
"He offered to do the dishes after they finished preparing dinner."
• noun
A recommended action or something that ought to be done, typically used in the plural phrase 'dos and don'ts'.
"The orientation packet includes a helpful list of dos and don'ts for international travelers."
A hairstyle or manner in which a person's hair is arranged (informal).
"She stepped out of the salon admiring her sleek new do in the window reflection."
British A party, reception, or other social event (informal).
"The company is hosting a formal black-tie do at the hotel to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary."
The first and seventh (octave) note of a major diatonic musical scale in solfège.
"The choir director instructed the students to begin their vocal warm-up on middle do."
Word Nuance & Usage
Learners often confuse 'do' and 'make': 'do' generally refers to actions, obligations, and repetitive tasks (e.g., 'do homework', 'do a favor'), whereas 'make' typically refers to creating, constructing, or producing a tangible result (e.g., 'make a cake', 'make a decision'). Additionally, 'do' serves as the primary dummy auxiliary in English for forming questions, negatives, and emphatic statements when no other auxiliary verb is present.
• Rhymes for do
Word Origin & Etymology
The verb and general noun senses derive from Old English dōn ('to perform, execute, or cause'), tracing back to the Proto-Germanic *dōną and the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeh₁- ('to put, place, or set'). The musical sense was coined in the 17th century by the Italian music theorist Giovanni Battista Doni to replace the older syllable 'ut' in the solfège scale.