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

On the first Friday under the lights of the Texas high school football stadium, Aledo fans donning the orange and black and packed the stands to see their Bearcats compete. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2025

Never afraid of a transformation, Stone has dabbled in milky and icy blondes, and donned a long, raven-haired wig for her Oscar-winning performance in Poor Things. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 Aug. 2025

Noun

In another pic, the 45 year old dons arm-length gloves on a tennis court. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025

Many of Butler’s prior roles required dramatic transformations, forcing him to don prosthetics or assume different accents. —Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Aug. 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