do1

verb

/duː/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they do	/duː/ /duː/
he / she / it does	/dʌz/ /dʌz/
past simple did	/dɪd/ /dɪd/
past participle done	/dʌn/ /dʌn/
-ing form doing	/ˈduːɪŋ/ /ˈduːɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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action

[transitive] do something used to refer to actions that you do not mention by name or do not know about

What are you doing this evening?
We will do what we can to help.
Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?
The company ought to do something about the poor service.
What have you done to your hair?
There's nothing to do (= no means of passing the time in an enjoyable way) in this place.
There's nothing we can do about it (= we can't change the situation).
What can I do for you (= how can I help)?

behave

[intransitive] to act or behave in the way mentioned

do as… Do as you're told!
They are free to do as they please.
+ adv./prep. You would do well to (= I advise you to) consider all the options before buying.

Extra Examples

Just do what they tell you to do.
Do whatever you like.

succeed/progress

[intransitive] + adv./prep. used to ask or talk about the success or progress of somebody/something

How is the business doing?
She did well out of (= made a big profit from) the deal.
He's doing very well at school (= his work is good).
Both mother and baby are doing well (= after the birth of the baby).
(informal) How are you doing (= how are you)?

Topics Successa1

task/activity

[transitive] do something to work at or perform an activity or a task

I'm doing some research on the subject.
I have a number of things to do today.
I do aerobics once a week.
Let's do (= meet for) lunch.
(informal) Sorry. I don't do funny (= I can't be funny).

[transitive] to perform the activity or task mentioned

do the ironing, cooking, shopping, etc. I like listening to the radio when I'm doing the ironing.
You could help me by doing the dishes.
do some, a little, etc. acting, writing, etc. She did a lot of acting when she was at college.

Vocabulary Building Household jobs: do or make?Household jobs: do or make?

To talk about jobs in the home you can use such phrases as wash the dishes, clean the kitchen floor, set the table, etc. In conversation the verb do is often used instead:
- Let me do the dishes.
- Michael said he would do the kitchen floor.
- It’s your turn to do the table.
Do is often used with nouns ending in -ing:
- to do the shopping/cleaning/ironing/vacuuming
.
The verb make is used especially in the phrase make the beds and when you are talking about preparing or cooking food:
- He makes a great lasagne.
- I’ll make breakfast while you’re having a shower.
You can also say get, get ready and, especially in North American English, fix for preparing meals:
- Can you get dinner while I put the kids to bed?
- Sit down—I’ll fix supper for you.

[transitive] do something used with nouns to talk about tasks such as cleaning, washing, arranging, etc.

to do (= wash) the dishes
to do (= arrange) the flowers
I like the way you've done your hair.

job

[transitive] do something (usually used in questions) to work at something as a job

What do you do (= what is your job)?
What does she want to do when she leaves school?
What did she do for a living?
What's Tom doing these days?

study

[transitive] do something to learn or study something

I'm doing physics, biology and chemistry.
Have you done any (= studied anything by) Keats?

solve

[transitive] do something to find the answer to something; to solve something

I can't do this sum.
Are you good at doing crosswords?

make

[transitive] to produce, make or provide something

do something to do a drawing/painting/sketch
Does this pub do lunches?
Who's doing the food for the wedding reception?
Many hotels don't do single rooms at all.
do something for somebody I'll do a copy for you.
do somebody something I'll do you a copy.

Synonyms makemake

do
create
develop
produce
generate
form

These words all mean to make something from parts or materials, or to cause something to exist or happen.

make
to create or prepare something by combining materials or putting parts together; to cause something to exist or happen:
- She makes her own clothes.
- She made a good impression on the interviewer.
do
(rather informal) to make or prepare something, especially something artistic or something to eat:
- He did a beautiful drawing of a house.
- Who’s doing the food for the party?
create
to make something exist or happen, especially something new that did not exist before:
- Scientists disagree about how the universe was created.

make or create?Make is a more general word and is more often used for physical things: you would usually make a table/dress/cake but create jobs/wealth. You can use create for something physical in order to emphasize how original or unusual the object is: Try this new dish, created by our head chef.

develop
(used especially in business contexts) to think of and produce a new product:
- to develop new software
produce
to make things to be sold; to create something using skill:
- a factory that produces microchips
generate
to produce or create something, especially power, money or ideas:
- to generate electricity
- Brainstorming is a good way of generating ideas.
form
[often passive] to make something from something else; to make something into something else:
- Rearrange the letters to form a new word.
- The chain is formed from 136 links.

Patterns

to make/create/develop/produce/generate/form something from/out of something
to make/form something into something
to make/produce wine
to create/develop a new product
to create/produce/generate income/profits/wealth
to produce/generate electricity/heat/power

Extra Examples

He did a beautiful drawing of a house.
Who's doing the flowers for the wedding?

be suitable/enough

[intransitive, transitive] to be suitable or be enough for somebody/something

‘Can you lend me some money?’ ‘Sure—will $20 do?’
do for somebody/something These shoes won't do for the party.
do as something The box will do fine as a table.
do somebody (+ adv./prep.) (especially British English) This room will do me nicely, thank you (= it has everything I need).

perform

[transitive] do something to perform or produce a play, an opera, etc.

The local dramatic society is doing ‘Hamlet’ next month.

copy somebody

[transitive] do somebody/something to copy somebody’s behaviour or the way somebody speaks, sings, etc., especially in order to make people laugh

He does a great Elvis Presley.
Can you do a Welsh accent?

finish

be/get something done

[intransitive, transitive] to finish something

Sit there and wait till I'm done.
be done doing something I've done talking—let's get started.
get something done Did you get your article done in time?

travel

[transitive] do something to travel a particular distance

How many miles did you do during your tour?
My car does 40 miles to the gallon (= uses one gallon of petrol to travel 40 miles).

[transitive] do something to complete a journey

We did the round trip in two hours.

speed

[transitive] do something to travel at or reach a particular speed

The car was doing 90 miles an hour.

visit

[transitive] do something (informal) to visit a place as a tourist

We did Tokyo in three days.

spend time

[transitive] do something to spend a period of time doing something

She did a year at college, but then dropped out.
He did six years (= in prison) for armed robbery.

deal with

[transitive] do somebody/something to deal with or attend to somebody/something

The hairdresser said she could do me (= cut my hair) at three.

cook

[transitive] do something to cook something

How would you like your steak done?

cheat

[transitive, usually passive] (British English, informal) to cheat somebody

be done This isn't a genuine antique—you've been done.

punish

[transitive] do somebody (for something) (British English, informal) to punish somebody

They did him for tax evasion.
She got done for speeding.

steal

[transitive] do something (informal) to steal from a place

The gang did a warehouse and a supermarket.

take drugs

[transitive] do something (informal) to take an illegal drug

He doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs.

have sex

[transitive] dosomebody/it (slang) to have sex with somebody

Word OriginOld English dōn, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch doen and German tun, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek tithēmi ‘I place’ and Latin facere ‘make, do’.

Idioms Most idioms containing do are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example do a bunk is at bunk.

be/have (got) nothing/not much to do with somebody/something

to be something that somebody does not need to know about or should not get involved in
- It's my decision—it's nothing to do with you.
- ‘How much do you earn?’ ‘What's it got to do with you?’
- We don't have very much to do with our neighbours (= we do not speak to them very often).
- I'd have nothing to do with him, if I were you.

be/have to do with somebody/something | have (got) something, a lot, etc. to do with somebody/something

to be about or connected with somebody/something
- ‘What do you want to see me about?’ ‘It's to do with that letter you sent me.’
- Her job has something to do with computers.
- Hard work has a lot to do with (= is an important reason for) her success.

do right, well, etc. by somebody

to treat somebody in a way that is right, good, etc.
- If we cannot keep the streets safe, then we are not doing right by the people of this country.
- We need to do better by those suffering from mental illness.
- We have done badly by the unemployed.

it won’t do

(especially British English) used to say that a situation is not acceptable and should be changed or improved
- This is the third time you've been late this week; it simply won't do.

not do anything/a lot/much for somebody

(informal) used to say that something does not make somebody look attractive
- That hairstyle doesn't do anything for her.

nothing doing

(informal) used to refuse a request
- ‘Can you lend me ten dollars?’ ‘Nothing doing!’

no you don’t

(informal) used to show that you intend to stop somebody from doing something that they were going to do
- Sharon went to get into the taxi. ‘Oh no you don't,’ said Steve.

that does it

(informal) used to show that you will not accept something any longer
- That does it, I'm off. I'm not having you swear at me like that.

that’s done it

(informal) used to say that an accident, a mistake, etc. has had a very bad effect on something
- That's done it. You've completely broken it this time.

that will do

used to order somebody to stop doing or saying something
- That'll do, children—you're getting far too noisy.

what do you do for something?

used to ask how somebody manages to obtain the thing mentioned
- What do you do for entertainment out here?

what is somebody/something doing…?

used to ask why somebody/something is in the place mentioned
- What are these shoes doing on my desk?