to do

1 of 2

phrase

: necessary to be done

I've done my best and all's to do again.

—A. E. Housman

to-do

2 of 2

noun

tə-ˈdü 

plural to-dos tə-ˈdüz 

: bustle, stir, fuss

Synonyms of to do

Noun

• commotion
• hurry
• disturbance
• stir
• fuss
• clutter
• turmoil
• fun
• storm
• noise

Examples of to do in a Sentence

Noun

there was such a to-do when the mice got loose from the science room that I thought the principal was going to close the school

Recent Examples on the Web

Phrase

Every client who wanted to drop the firm, DTLA said in a statement, was free to do so. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

These are women and men who are from our communities (and) who, for the most part, had long careers in the law or the judiciary, and the vast majority are trying to do the right thing. — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 11 July 2026

That probably has something to do with Peter waking up in weird situations with his organic spider-mutations happening. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

In some cases, the jobs they'd been hired to do simply don't exist anymore. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 11 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1576, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for to do

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

Kids Definition

to-do

noun

tə-ˈdü

plural to-dos

-ˈdüz

: fuss entry 1, stir, commotion