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Doff vs Don
Time was, people talked about doffing and donning articles of clothing with about the same frequency. But in the mid-19th century the verb don became significantly more popular and left doff to flounder a bit in linguistic semi-obscurity. Doff and don have been a pair from the start: both date to the 14th century, with doff arising as a Middle English contraction of the phrase “to do off” and don as a contraction of “to do on.” Shakespeare was among the first, as far as we know, to use the word as it’s defined in the more general sense of “to rid oneself of” or “put aside.” He has Juliet give voice to this sense when she says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet. / … Romeo, doff thy name; / And for that name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself.”
Examples of doff in a Sentence
Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
Kisses were blown; hats were doffed.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2025
Justin Verlander struck out the side in the first inning Sunday afternoon, walked off the mound to a standing ovation and doffed his cap to the crowd.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2025
Hayes doffed his cap to the crowd in appreciation.
—John Perrotto, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doff
Cite this Entry
“Doff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doff. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
doff
verb
Middle English doffen "to take off," from don "to do" and of "off"
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