donned; donning
1
: to put on (an article of clothing)
donned his hat and gloves
2
: to wrap oneself in : take on sense 3a
the donning of new and more tyrannous moralities—
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir1
: a head (see head entry 1 sense 6a), tutor, or fellow (see fellow sense 5) in a college of Oxford or Cambridge University
she didn't want to be a don's wife and live in Oxford forever—Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
broadly
: a college or university professor
2
[Italian, title of respect, from donno, literally, lord, from Latin dominus]
: a powerful Mafia leader
3
: a Spanish nobleman or gentleman
—used as a title prefixed to the Christian name
4
archaic
: a person of consequence : grandee
the great dons of wit—John Dryden
John Dryden
director of nursing
Examples of don in a Sentence
Verb
He donned his gloves and hat.
she donned her best gown for the ball
Recent Examples on the WebBriana Ellis-Gibbs, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
To celebrate Easter with her brand Rhode Skin, the model and beauty mogul, 27, dressed up — and stripped down — donning a dainty swimsuit and bunny ears for a beachside photo shoot.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
For example, wear them on Monday, switch to your regular footwear for a few days, then don the minimalist shoes again on Thursday.
—Alisha McDarris, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
While Diane was still active, the couple had a ball donning overalls and building and fiddling with off-road vehicles that Barnett raced on dirt tracks.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
One of the through-lines of the franchise is a murderous persona known as Ghostface, who wears a cartoonish white rubber mask and dons a black hooded robe.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
Hart embodies versatility beyond the realm of comedy, donning multiple hats as an actor, producer, director, restaurateur, and businessman.
—Aaraf Adam, Essence, 26 Mar. 2024
Among the departures from Twain’s text is a subplot involving Jim performing in a minstrel troupe and donning blackface alongside the white actors.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Hollywood’s on board, too: Anne Hathaway wore Valentino to her hush-hush wedding in 2012 and Gwyneth Paltrow donned the designer for her wedding to Brad Falchuk in 2018.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
History: Old Town held on through the days of the Spanish dons, the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican War and the arrival of statehood in 1850.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2023
Friday’s date, July 7, is the couple’s anniversary and also matches the uniform number Doncic dons in Dallas, 77.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 7 July 2023
Its current don is Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 27 Mar. 2023
What will your favorite performer don this evening, though?
—Vogue, 26 Feb. 2023
Though showing considerable variety in their plots and themes, James’s ghost stories typically feature a male scholar, often an unmarried university don, who notices something anomalous in a decaying church, an old manuscript or a bit of folklore.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2023
DSP Forced into exile after an encounter with a ruthless don, a young man returns as a policy officer to exact revenge on his nemesis.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022
In Tracksmith’s tale of art and intellect intersecting with commerce, arguably the biggest coup to date has been getting Malcolm Gladwell, the British-Canadian don of populist intellectualism, on board.
—Katie Baron, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
Verb
That journey is gradual: At first, Faustine is seen donning a black and a blue scarf on her head, but no other clothes to cover the rest of her body, in photos taken outside Brooklyn Borough Hall and a playground in Chinatown.
—Briana Ellis-Gibbs, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
To celebrate Easter with her brand Rhode Skin, the model and beauty mogul, 27, dressed up — and stripped down — donning a dainty swimsuit and bunny ears for a beachside photo shoot.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
For example, wear them on Monday, switch to your regular footwear for a few days, then don the minimalist shoes again on Thursday.
—Alisha McDarris, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
While Diane was still active, the couple had a ball donning overalls and building and fiddling with off-road vehicles that Barnett raced on dirt tracks.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
One of the through-lines of the franchise is a murderous persona known as Ghostface, who wears a cartoonish white rubber mask and dons a black hooded robe.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
Hart embodies versatility beyond the realm of comedy, donning multiple hats as an actor, producer, director, restaurateur, and businessman.
—Aaraf Adam, Essence, 26 Mar. 2024
Among the departures from Twain’s text is a subplot involving Jim performing in a minstrel troupe and donning blackface alongside the white actors.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Hollywood’s on board, too: Anne Hathaway wore Valentino to her hush-hush wedding in 2012 and Gwyneth Paltrow donned the designer for her wedding to Brad Falchuk in 2018.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Noun
Instead of the dour, moralistic tales that were considered appropriate nursery fare at the time, Dodgson served up absurdist takes on Victorian England’s polite tea parties, its eccentric dons, its gossipy news stories, its popular poems, songs, dances, and parlor games.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
History: Old Town held on through the days of the Spanish dons, the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican War and the arrival of statehood in 1850.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2023
Friday’s date, July 7, is the couple’s anniversary and also matches the uniform number Doncic dons in Dallas, 77.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 7 July 2023
Its current don is Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 27 Mar. 2023
What will your favorite performer don this evening, though?
—Vogue, 26 Feb. 2023
Though showing considerable variety in their plots and themes, James’s ghost stories typically feature a male scholar, often an unmarried university don, who notices something anomalous in a decaying church, an old manuscript or a bit of folklore.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2023
DSP Forced into exile after an encounter with a ruthless don, a young man returns as a policy officer to exact revenge on his nemesis.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022
In Tracksmith’s tale of art and intellect intersecting with commerce, arguably the biggest coup to date has been getting Malcolm Gladwell, the British-Canadian don of populist intellectualism, on board.
—Katie Baron, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'don.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing don
Dictionary Entries Near don
Cite this Entry
“Don.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/don. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
don
2 of 2 noun1
: a Spanish nobleman or gentleman
—used as a title
2
: a teacher in a college or university
Geographical Definition
Don
geographical name
river 1224 miles (1969 kilometers) long in Russia in Europe flowing southeast and then southwest into the Sea of Azov
More from Merriam-Webster on don
Nglish: Translation of don for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of don for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about don
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