don

verb

\ ˈdän

donned; donning

Definition of don

(Entry 1 of 4)

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

noun

Definition of don (Entry 2 of 4)

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

abbreviation

Definition of DON (Entry 3 of 4)

director of nursing

Don

geographical name

\ ˈdän

Definition of Don (Entry 4 of 4)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about don

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for don

Synonyms: Verb

put on, slip (on or into), throw (on)

Antonyms: Verb

doff, remove, take off

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

Seven years later, Cardin became the first civilian to don Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 spacesuit, and his extraterrestrial fixation continues. — Charlene K. Lau, The Atlantic, "How Pierre Cardin’s Futuristic Fashion Infiltrated Everyday Life," 28 July 2019 If a concept or story is delicious enough, development executives everywhere race to don their butchers' smocks and carve that thing from the rooter to the tooter. — Peter Rubin, WIRED, "Snowpiercer Trains an Eye on TV—and Its Genre DNA Runs Deep," 21 July 2019 The men will need almost an hour to don the backpack life-support system, referred to as PLISS. — James R. Berry, Popular Mechanics, "Man's First Day on the Moon," 19 July 2019 Leonard is clearly the most talented player to ever don a Raptors uniform, but Lowry is in the conversation of Greatest Raptor Ever. — Michael Shapiro, SI.com, "How Will the Raptors Pivot Following Kawhi Leonard’s Departure?," 17 July 2019 When an exceptional high tide flooded Venice last year, three quarters of the city was inundated and people were forced to don high boots to get around the streets. — Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Letter from Venice: A precarious paradise, engaged in a longtime dialogue with Chicago," 5 July 2019 Next, pilots head into a locker room to don former military issue flight suits, which are made from fire-proof Nomex. — Bradley Zint, latimes.com, "Become a pilot for a day at Anaheim’s Flightdeck Flight Simulation Center," 3 July 2019 Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, Tobias Harris and Khris Middleton are all set to become free agents – but all are highly unlikely to don a Nuggets uniform next year, owing to both financial restrictions and chemistry. — Mike Singer, The Denver Post, "Why the Nuggets aren’t “scared” of the Western Conference’s arms race," 22 June 2019 American astronauts might not have walked on the moon without NASA legend Christopher Kraft, but the 95-year-old never wanted to don a spacesuit or leave his own dusty footprints. — Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle, "A NASA legend: Christopher Kraft wrote the rule book for Mission Control, flight operations," 22 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Around that time, Johnson became strongly associated with pedaling delightfully around London on a bicycle like an eccentric Oxbridge don. — Kyle Smith, National Review, "Who Is Boris Johnson?," 19 July 2019 In the images, Barbie dons bold red platform boots, a red-and-blue-striped space suit, and a gold disc on her forehead. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Barbie gets dolled up as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust," 12 July 2019 Duffy, an emeritus Cambridge don, has realized my fears, engaging in what in journalism is known as bigfooting. — Eamon Duffy, The New York Review of Books, "Feasting on Erasmus," 9 May 2019 Humans signal subordination by bowing, groveling, laughing at the boss’s jokes, kissing the don’s ring, saluting and so on. — Frans De Waal, Discover Magazine, "Cheerful Chimps: Are Animals Really Happy When They Smile?," 31 May 2019 This Boba Fett dons sculpted Mandalorian armor, a rangefinder, flight suit and vest with body plate armor, knee pads, and wrist gauntlets. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The Best Star Wars Toys for Any Aspiring Jedi," 27 Mar. 2019 Insiders will recognize real-world touches: the bookish spectacles one defendant dons for court, the feral dogs that roam gang neighborhoods, the civilian police employee who passes tips to her gang-member nephew. — Jill Leovy, New York Times, "The Killers of the ‘Sex Money Murder’ Gang and the Cops Who Went After Them," 1 June 2018 Cuadrado is more interested in Ronaldo's abilities than what shirt number dons either player's back. — Afp, chicagotribune.com, "Cuadrado: 'no problem' giving up number 7 jersey to Ronaldo," 12 July 2018 In the outside world, kids their age don caps and gowns, celebrate sweet 16s and quinceañeras. — Joy Resmovits, latimes.com, "What prom looks like in juvenile detention: contraband hairpins have to be returned at the end of the night," 21 June 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.