don

verb \ ˈdän \

Updated on: 17 May 2018

Definition of don

donned; donning

transitive verb

1 : to put on (an article of clothing)

donned his hat and gloves

2 : to wrap oneself in : take on 3a

the donning of new and more tyrannous moralities
—Edward Sapir

See don defined for English-language learners

See don defined for kids

Examples of don in a Sentence

He donned his gloves and hat.
she donned her best gown for the ball

Recent Examples of don from the Web

Carley Morris, of Fort Worth, donned her cap and gown and braved 65-degree waters on Lake Austin on April 22 to get the perfect shots.

— william axford, Houston Chronicle, "UT Austin student catches a wave, poses on wakeboard for senior pictures," 7 May 2018
Students get to don thick leather gloves and let a Harris’ hawk, red tail hawk or barn owl land on their fists.

— vincent crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Suwannee County: Experience an ancient hunting art at International Falconry Academy," 6 May 2018
Jackson donned a Captain America uniform and struck a bold pose.

— ashley vaughan, CNN, "These kids were being bullied. Then a photographer transformed them into Avengers superheroes," 26 Apr. 2018
BERLIN — Germans of various faiths donned Jewish skullcaps and took to the streets Wednesday in several cities to protest an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin and to express fears about growing hatred of Jews in the country.

— kirsten grieshaber, BostonGlobe.com, "Germans don skullcaps to protest anti-Semitism," 25 Apr. 2018
BERLIN – Germans of various faiths donned Jewish skullcaps and took to the streets Wednesday in several cities to protest an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin and express fears about growing hatred of Jews in the country.

— Fox News, "Germans of all faiths don Jewish kippah to protest against anti-Semitism," 25 Apr. 2018
Noon Saturday, Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 E. Peterson Road, Grayslake, free, 847-979-0091 Model Train Day: Children of all ages can don their conductor’s hat and operate the model trains courtesy of Valley Model Railroad Club.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Calendar: Color yourself calm in North Chicago," 16 Apr. 2018
Without any explanation regarding the new character, Hadid donned a blonde wig, and went about her everyday life: But that's not all.

— amy mackelden, Marie Claire, "Bella Hadid Has a Blonde Alter Ego Called Rebekka Harajuku," 9 Apr. 2018
Soroptimists and local dignitaries will don aprons and serve salads and desserts prepared by club members and local restaurants.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Women's Club plans fashion show," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'don.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of don

Middle English, contraction of do on

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

don Synonyms

don

noun \ ˈdän \

Definition of don

1 : a head (see ¹head 6a), tutor, or fellow (see fellow 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

[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

See don defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of don from the Web

Jim, the dancing don of Delos’ oddball jig on Westworld, has bestowed upon us with some excellent meme material.

— ashley hoffman, Time, "Westworld Has Delivered a Beautiful New Dance Meme-in-the-Making," 14 May 2018
Phyllis Poor, a fiber artist from Winthrop, said her British daughter-in-law dons fascinators to formal events like weddings.

— laura crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, "Ahead of royal wedding, women make fascinators in Winthrop," 12 May 2018
The double-gated estate dons a Spanish Colonial style.

— jack flemming, latimes.com, "‘Gossip Girl’ co-creator Stephanie Savage is ready for a scene change in Los Feliz," 3 Apr. 2018
Tiffany dons rubber gloves and fearlessly scoops chopped fish and vegetables from a container into a tank filled with fish and turtles native to Ohio's waterways.

— brenda cain, cleveland.com, "Aspiring marine biologist Tiffany Everhart gets VIP treatment at Cleveland Aquarium: A Greater Cleveland," 16 Apr. 2018
The existence of black holes was first posited in the 18th century (by a Cambridge don, Hawking notes smugly).

— jerry adler, Newsweek, "Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe: Our 1988 Cover Story on the Legendary Physicist," 14 Mar. 2018
Instead, eat the thing that can only be had at Tsujiki: gyu-don.

— Bon Appetit, "Kitsune-ya," 19 Mar. 2018
Gotti, 24, is the son of Peter Gotti, one of five children of the famous mafia don, who died as a federal prisoner in 2002.

— Fox News, "Gotti's grandson sentenced to 5-year term for car arson," 14 Mar. 2018
Wojnarowski, or simply Woj, is the don of NBA news breakers.

— matthew glenesk, Indianapolis Star, "IndyStar 2018 NCAA tournament celebrity alumni bracket," 12 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of don

Spanish, from Latin dominus master — more at dame

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1523

in the meaning defined at sense 3

See Words from the same year

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

DON

abbreviation

Definition of DON

director of nursing

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

Don

geographical name \ ˈdän \

Definition of Don

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

DON Defined for English Language Learners

don

verb

Definition of don for English Language Learners

: to put on (a piece of clothing)

don

noun

Definition of don for English Language Learners

: a teacher in a college or university; especially : a teacher at Oxford or Cambridge University
: a powerful Mafia leader

DON Defined for Kids

don

verb \ ˈdän \

Definition of don for Students

donned; donning

: to put on

don a cap

Learn More about don

See words that rhyme with don Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for don Spanish Central: Translation of 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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don

Definition of don

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Origin and Etymology of don

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DON

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DON Defined for English Language Learners

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don

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