See Also:

do(2) (iou)



do verb. = does not. See also DUNNO.
[Old English don corresp. to Old Frisian dua, Old Saxon don (Dutch doen), Old High German tuon (German tun), from West Germanic from Indo-European stem repr. also by Sanskrit dadhami put, lay, Greek tithemi I place, Latin facere make, do. Cf. DEED noun, DOOM noun1.]
I. verb trans. as full verb.
a. Put, place, (lit. & fig.). obsolete exc. dial., with prepositions (see do off etc. below), & in do to DEATH. OE.
J. Foxe If I would not tell where I had done him. William Stewart He did him in his will.
b. refl. Put or set oneself; proceed, go. Only in ME.
c. Use, disburse, (money) for a particular purpose. LME-E16.
Confer on, impart to, (a person etc.); cause (a person etc.) to receive (something abstract, usu. good). Also foll. by to the recipient. OE.
Ld Berners The which dyd them great trouble. F. Marryat I did a gipsy a good turn once. S. Walpole A day's sport which would have done credit to these modern days. M. Keane A brisk walk would do you good. W. Golding To call them 'assistants' does their memory scant justice.
Perform, effect, engage in, be the agent of, (an action, good, work, etc.); carry out (a function, duty, etc.); carry out, obey, (a command, wish, etc.); follow (advice, a bidding); perform duly (a ritual, esp. penance); arch. commit (a crime). OE.
Bible (AV): Matthew 6:10 Thy will be done. Defoe We knew not what to do with this poor girl. R. H. Mottram Powerful, docile servants of a younger age, that could do the work of ten men. V. Woolf As the whole thing is a bad joke, let us, at any rate, do our part. Irving Berlin Anything you can do, I can do better. E. Waugh A smartly dressed young man was doing a brisk trade in bogus tickets. C. P. Snow It doesn't do any harm to touch wood.
b. In an interrog. or indef. clause introduced by what: follow as an occupation, work at for a living. E20.
J. Betjeman You ask me what it is I do...I'm partly a liaison man and partly P.R.O.
a. As pa. pple (done), esp. in perf. tenses. Accomplished, finished, brought to a conclusion; (of a wager etc.) accepted, agreed, (freq. absol. as interjection). ME.
Swift When dinner is done. Dickens 'Dine with me to-morrow.'..'Done!' Rider Haggard By the time that the horses had done their forage. D. L. Sayers Mr. Bunter congratulated himself on a number of things attempted and done. S. Beckett Have you not done tormenting me?
b. Exhaust; ruin, be the downfall of, (a person); slang beat up, kill, defeat. LME.
c. In pass. Have nothing more to say or to do; have finished; (foll. by with) give up concern or lose interest in. M18.
F. Marryat One little bit more, and then I am done. E. Reveley Heidi was soon done with literature.
Exert or use (one's best, one's diligence, etc.) in effecting something. ME.
Defoe They bade the Swedes do their worst. P. H. Johnson I do my best for her.
Deliver (a message). E16-E18.
Deal with, do things to, perform actions on, (the nature of the action being usu. inferable from the obj. or subj.); esp. arrange (hair, flowers); decorate or clean (a room); cook (food), esp. to the right degree (usu. in pass.); wash (crockery); tend (a garden); attend to (a person), subject (a person) to immunization, a test, etc.; neuter or spay (an animal). E16.
M. Drabble The spaghetti was not quite done. J. Winterson She played Lead Kindly Light. Her doing the keys, and me doing the pedals.
Produce, bring into existence by one's action. L16.
C. Hollyband We have done five or six copies in the same paper. E. Nesbit It's the pipe we did bubbles with in the summer.
b. Of a public house, hotel, etc.: provide (meals, accommodation). L20.
W. J. Burley The Marina doesn't do meals other than breakfast.
Act (a play); play the part of. L16.
E. Bowen Colonel Duperrier asked her to pour out tea and do hostess. Times Institutions under threat of closure..are saying 'They're doing a Beeching on us.'
Work at, study; take (a course of instruction); (of an artist, reviewer, etc.) take as one's subject; translate (into). M17.
R. Buchanan There Amos often sat and did his accounts. O. W. Holmes Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum. I. Murdoch She'll..do a secretarial course next year. G. Swift Children, do you remember when we did the French Revolution?
Hoax, cheat, swindle. slang. M17.
Traverse (a distance); attain, travel at, (a speed). L18.
T. Moore Did the four miles in less than twenty minutes. G. B. Shaw The old cars only do twelve miles to the gallon. J. Masters Patrick passed us on his Norton, doing about seventy.
Break into, steal from, (a place). slang. L18.
Arrest; charge with an offence; convict. slang. L18.
S. Townsend If he's not careful he will get done by the police for obscene language.
Visit, see the sights of, (a place); attend (an entertainment). colloq. E19.
Spend (a time) as a prisoner, serve. slang. M19.
Be sufficient for, satisfy, (a person). Cf. sense 27 below. colloq. M19.
M. Gee Will fish and chips do you?
Orig., drink (an alcoholic liquor). Now, take or smoke (a drug) otherwise than therapeutically. slang. M19.
Provide food or lodgings for; treat or entertain well. colloq. L19.
J. K. Jerome He said they would do him for the whole week at two pounds five.
Look after and manage (a horse); dial. & NZ look after, provide food for, (sheep). L19.
Have sexual intercourse with. L19.
Spend all of. Also foll. by in. Austral. & NZ slang. L19.
II. verb intrans. as full verb.
Act or behave in a specified way; perform some activity. OE.
J. Selden Preachers say, Do as I say, not as I do. A. Radcliffe He had done imprudently to elect her for the companion of his whole life. N. Mitford When in Rome..we do as the Romans do.
b. Perform deeds; be active. LME.
Longfellow Let us..be up and doing. G. K. Chesterton At Trafalgar..We did and died like lions. Times Younger people, with no money and no showrooms but ready to do for themselves.
Proceed in an emergency or difficulty; manage, get by. ME.
Shakespeare Richard II How shall we do for money for these wars? R. Macaulay They could just do on it..with what she herself earned.
Fare, get on, make progress, spec. as regards health. Foll. by adverb, esp. well. ME.
Shakespeare 2 Henry IV May I ask how my lady his wife doth? E. B. Browning She was ill only three hours and is doing excellently now. M. Drabble Mrs Maugham had done well at school. J. Grenfell Say how-do-you-do to Mr Hindhorst. C. Causley Telling him How the lobelias are doing.
In perf. tenses (have done etc.). Make an end, conclude; cease to have dealings with. ME.
Carlyle There is endless merit in a man's knowing when to have done. W. Golding Let us have done with her for a moment.
Serve a purpose, suffice; be adequate; be suitable, acceptable, or appropriate. Cf. sense 17 above. L16.
Chesterfield Adieu, my dear! I find you will do. E. A. Freeman It would hardly have done to send him. I. Murdoch Would the same time on Sunday morning do for Miles? P. Campbell I had one fairly good dark suit..that would do for the evenings.
III. As aux. verb (see also sense 35 below).
Causative uses.
a. Cause that a person or thing should do something; produce the effect that. OE-LME.
b. With obj. & inf.: cause (a person etc.) to or to (do something, esp. know, or be done). Now arch. rare. OE.
Spenser Sometimes, to do him laugh, she would assay To laugh. Sir W. Scott We..do thee, Sir Patrick Charteris..to know, that [etc.].
c. With inf. only: cause to or to (do or be done). ME-M16.
As a substitute for a verb just used.
a. verb intrans. Repl. a verb & its obj. (if any) in affirmatives, and in imperatives conveying assent to a request or suggestion. OE.
J. Collins We pay double the price we formerly did. G. B. Shaw Lady Farwaters. May I try to explain? The Clergyman. Please do. D. Abse I feel much better now than I did a month ago.
b. verb intrans. & trans. (with it). Repl. a verb, with as, it, so, or which referring to the earlier verb or clause OE.
W. Cruise Whoever wanted to surrender must..do it in person. S. T. Warner He told them to go away, he even begged them to do so. A. T. Ellis The churches are closing, as the cinemas did.
c. verb trans. & intrans. Repl. a verb and taking its construction(s). ME.
Goldsmith I..chose my wife, as she did her wedding-gown.
d. verb intrans. Repl. a verb in an emphatic repetition. L16.
P. Beer He rang me up In a dream, My brother did. D. L. Sayers 'Ev another crumpet, do, Mr. Bunter.
e. verb intrans. Ellipt. for periphrastic aux. (sense 30 below). E17.
J. Conrad Everybody supposed Haldin was in the provinces...Didn't you? E. Bowen 'I cleared out.' 'So you did.'
As periphrastic aux. in past and pres. tenses.
a. In simple affirmative sentences. Now arch. & dial. exc. Law. OE.
Book of Common Prayer O Lord, who..didst fast fourty days and fourty nights.
b. In affirmative sentences with inverted word order. OE.
J. Conrad More than any other event does 'stranding' bring to the sailor a sense of..failure.
c. In questions and negations; the now usual foll. by exc. with dare, ought; not used with be, can, may, or must, nor with have as aux. (nor, formerly, with have as verb trans.). LME.
H. Hunter Do we not see there..talents distracted? J. Fiske The popular histories do not have much to say about these eighteen days. Anthony Smith Do you like water-melon?
d. In affirmative sentences, used to give emphasis, esp. in contrast with what precedes or follows. L16.
T. Hardy At last a packet did indeed arrive at the village. S. Spender The Dents du Midi do look incredibly like teeth. R. P. Jhabvala For all she was so thin and white, she did look tough.
As periphrastic aux. in imperatives.
a. Adding emphasis or urgency to an exhortation or command. OE.
T. Hardy Do you hop up here. M. Keane Oh Mother, do let them come.
b. Used with not (colloq. jointly contr. to don't) as the now normal form of the neg. imper. L16.
J. Conrad And don't you forget it. Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night.
In progressive active tense (be doing):
a. Happen, go on; (of an activity or, formerly, an object) be being done. Cf. nothing doing below. ME.
S. Pepys My closett is doing by upholsters. M. W. Montagu What is doing among my acquaintance at London. L. Mann He had invited her so that he might ascertain whether there was anything doing.
b. In an interrog. or indef. clause introduced by what: have as an explanation or reason for being (in a place). M18.
J. Johnston What's that fellow doing here? I. Murdoch She lay awake wondering what that..hairy body was doing in her bed.
IV. spec. uses of parts of the verb (see also senses 4, 26, 32 above).
to do inf., after be (in 3rd person) or a noun: proper or necessary to be done; (formerly also) the thing to be done. Cf. TO-DO. ME.
P. A. Motteux There was the Devil and all to do.
do imper.: go on! (as a word of encouragement or incitement). LME-E17.
done pa. pple: used as a perfective aux., and as adverb in senses 'already', 'completely'. US dial. E19.
J. H. Beadle People have done forgot they had any Injun blood in 'em. E. T. Wallace I don't know what you need with another boy. You done got four. F. O'Connor He done gone off with a woman.
don't: used in 3rd person neg. imperatives after let's, in place of simple not. US slang. M20.
New Yorker Let's don't go yet.
Phrases: can do: see CAN verb1. do a colloq. behave like, do an impersonation of, (a specified person). do a guy: see GUY noun2. do a hand's turn: see HAND noun. do a line with: see LINE noun2. do a number on: see NUMBER noun.do any good: see GOOD noun. do a person in the eye: see EYE noun. do a person proud, do oneself proud colloq. give a person, oneself, reason for being proud, treat with honour or great generosity. do a person wrong: see WRONG noun2. do a ton: see TON noun1. do battle: see BATTLE noun. do brown: see BROWN adjective 3. do dirt to: see DIRT noun. do good: see GOOD noun. do homage: see HOMAGE verb 1. do it (a) colloq. have sexual intercourse; (b) slang urinate; defecate; (c) succeed in a task etc. done to a turn: see TURN noun. don't me colloq. do not use the word or mention the name of to me. do one's bit: see BIT noun2. do one's block: see BLOCK noun 6b. do oneself well colloq. make liberal provision for one's creature comforts (cf. sense 17 above). do one's head, do one's nut slang become very worried or angry. do one's own thing: see THING noun1. do one's scone: see SCONE 3. do one's stuff: see STUFF noun. do one's thing: see THING noun1. do one's utmost: see UTMOST noun 2b. do or die perform deeds in the face of great danger. do right by: see RIGHT noun1. do something for, do something to colloq. enhance the appearance or quality of. do the colloq. do what is (proper etc.), be (amiable etc.); (do the dirty: see DIRTY noun). do the other thing: see OTHER adjective. do the ton: see TON noun1. do the trick: see TRICK noun. do things to: see THING noun1. do to DEATH. do violence to: see VIOLENCE. do well for oneself prosper. do well out of profit by, benefit from. do wonders: see WONDER noun. do wrong to: see WRONG noun2. do your worst: see WORST adjective, adverb, & noun. get done with: see GET verb. have done it colloq. have made a mess of something, incur disaster (see also do it above); that's done it, (a) (expr. dismay or exasperation) the limit of tolerance has been reached, that is the last straw; (b) (expr. delight) that achieves the desired end, that has brought success. have to do (a) arch. & dial. have business or concern (freq. interrog.); (b) be connected with, have business with, (freq. in have nothing to do, not have anything to do). how do (you do)?: see HOW adverb. I NEVER did! it isn't done, (less usu.) it is not done colloq. it contravenes custom, opinion, or propriety. make do: see MAKE verb. no can do: see CAN verb1. nothing doing nothing is happening, there is no business; colloq. there is no chance of success; I will not comply or accept. not know what to do with oneself be embarrassed, be bored. no you don't colloq. I will prevent you (from doing what you were about to do or have just begun). over and done with: see OVER adverb. tell a person what to do with : see TELL verb. that'll do, that will do (a) that is sufficient; (b) (as exclam.) stop that! what did you do with it?, what shall I do with it? etc., where did you, shall I, etc., put it? when all is said and done: see SAY verb1.
With adverbs in specialized senses: do away (a) verb phr. trans. dismiss, remove; (b) verb phr. trans., & (now usu.) intrans. with with put an end to, abolish. do down (a) put down (lit. & fig.); (b) colloq. overcome; cheat, swindle. do in slang damage greatly, ruin; murder; (see also sense 21 above, DONE ppl adjective 3). do off arch. take off, remove. do on arch. put on, don. do out (a) put out (of), remove, extinguish; (b) clean, redecorate, refurbish, (a room); (c) do a person out of, deprive of, esp. fraudulently or unfairly. do over (a) overlay, cover, with; (b) slang = sense 11 above; (c) colloq. wear out, tire out, (usu. in pass.); (d) Austral. & NZ slang handle (a person) roughly; (e) slang = sense 21 above; (f) = do out (b) above; (g) N. Amer. do again. do up (a) put up, raise, open; (b) repair, renovate; (c) wrap up (a parcel), make into a parcel; (d) dress up, adorn; (e) slang ruin; get the better of; beat up; (see also DONE ppl adjective 3).
With prepositions in specialized senses: do by act towards or deal with (a person) in a specified way. do for (a) (now colloq.) act for, manage; provide for, attend to; esp. act as housekeeper for; (b) colloq. ruin, seriously damage or injure, destroy, kill; (see also sense 27 above). do to, (arch.) do unto = do by above; (see also sense 2 above). do with (a) deal with, have to do with; (b) put up with, tolerate, accept; manage with, find sufficient; could do with (colloq.), would find useful or should like to have; (see also senses 4,26 and in Phrases above). do without manage without (something specified or (absol.) understood contextually); complete a task without.