don

1 of 3

verb

ˈdän 

donned; donning

transitive verb

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

don

2 of 3

noun

1

: 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

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

DON

3 of 3

abbreviation

director of nursing

Synonyms

Verb

• throw (on)
• rig
• put on
• slip (on or into)
• dress
• trick

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 Web

Verb

Charli xcx wore a silk, off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood dress and tulle veil, while Daniel donned a double-breasted suit. —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 21 July 2025

His motivation for donning the slicker and hook of the killer who twice tormented him is a bit muddled. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2025

Noun

Yet so far two major law firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP and Paul Weiss have given in to short term greed and paid off the don who lives in the White House and uses our government to extort money solely to enrich and aggrandize himself. —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025

Staley doesn’t know what people will see her don next. —Kristie Rieken, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, contraction of do on

Noun

Spanish, from Latin dominus master — more at dame

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing don

• don/wear sackcloth and ashes

Rhymes for don

• aune
• bon
• bonne
• brawn
• chon
• con
• conn
• crohn
• dawn
• drawn
• fawn
• gone

Kids Definition

don

1 of 2 verb

ˈdän 

donned; donning

: to dress oneself in : put on

don

2 of 2 noun

1

: a Spanish nobleman or gentleman

—used as a title

2

: a teacher in a college or university

Etymology

Verb

from a contraction of do on

Noun

from Spanish don "a nobleman or gentleman," from Latin dominus "master, owner" — related to dame, dominate

Geographical Definition

Don

geographical name

ˈdän 

river 1224 miles (1969 kilometers) long in Russia in Europe flowing southeast and then southwest into the Sea of Azov