doom

verb

doomed; dooming; dooms

transitive verb

1

: to give judgment against : condemn

2

a

: to fix the fate of : destine

felt he was doomed to a life of loneliness

b

: to make certain the failure or destruction of

the scandal doomed her chances for election

Synonyms of doom

• destine
• fate
• ordain

Examples of doom in a Sentence

A criminal record will doom your chances of becoming a politician.

the actor felt that he was doomed to be forever remembered for that one terrible performance

Recent Examples on the Web

Parents hear so much about AI these days—how their kids are using it in the classroom and to socialize, even considering it a friend in some cases—and one of the most prominent debates going on right now is whether AI is here to save humanity, or doom it. —Staff Author, Parents, 7 June 2026

The researchers were dealing mostly in speculation — the gene modification technology that scientists could use to doom the screwworm is untested at scale and not ready to be deployed. —Evan Bush, NBC news, 7 June 2026

That means residents can't overwater in an attempt to save them, but that doesn't mean all of Colorado's gardens are doomed. —Michael Abeyta, CBS News, 6 June 2026

The Israeli Air Force used stealth jets and special forces as part of the operation to install the devices, as Israel’s political leadership believed negotiations between the US and Iran were doomed to fail. —Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing doom

• doom merchant
• gloom and doom
• meet one's doom
• prophet of doom
• prophets of doom
• spell doom

Rhymes for doom

• blume
• boom
• broom
• flume
• fume
• gloom
• glume
• groom
• loom
• plume
• rheum
• room

Kids Definition

doom

1 of 2 noun

ˈdüm 

1

: a decision made by a court : sentence

2

a

: a usually unhappy end

b

: death sense 1, ruin

doom

2 of 2 verb

1

: condemn sense 2

2

: to set on a fixed course to an unhappy end

the plan was doomed to failure