don

1 of 3

verb

ˈdän 

donned; donning

transitive verb

1

: to put on (an article of clothing)

donned his hat

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 of don

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

While Bloom dressed as a skeleton for the holiday, Matthews wore a blue body suit and black wig reminiscent of the look Perry donned for her 11-minute Blue Origin mission to space earlier in 2024. —Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 10 Nov. 2025

During the event, the couple posed for a photograph alongside Williams, who donned a floor-length Pamella Roland gown and wore her hair in loose waves. —Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025

Noun

To experience it, visitors to the free exhibition don a VR headset outfitted with a scent dispenser that sits over the nose. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 8 Nov. 2025

Corcoran was supposed to be nude for that upside-down scene, but ultimately convinced Falcone and Leone to allow her to don briefs, the lawsuit said. —David K. Li, NBC news, 29 Oct. 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