done meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

done

adj

UK, US /dʌn/ · /dʊn/

Etymology From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

8 senses

1Having completed or finished an activity.
2Completed or finished.
3Ready, fully cooked.
4Being exhausted, used up, or fully spent.
5Without hope or prospect of completion or success.
6Fashionable, socially acceptable, tasteful.
7Finished with (something).
8Punished.

1

Having completed or finished an activity.

He pushed his empty plate away, sighed and pronounced "I am done."
They were done playing and were picking up the toys when he arrived.

2

Of an activity or task Completed or finished.

I'll text you when the movie's done.

3

Of food Ready, fully cooked.

As soon as the potatoes are done we can sit down and eat.

4

Being exhausted, used up, or fully spent.

When the water is done we will only be able to go on for a few days.

5

Without hope or prospect of completion or success.

He is done, after three falls there is no chance he will be able to finish.

6

Fashionable, socially acceptable, tasteful.

I can't believe he just walked up and spoke to her like that, those kind of things just aren't done!
What is the done thing these days? I can't keep up!

7

Canada, Philadelphia, Scotland Finished with (something).

I'm done my homework.

8

Colloquial Punished.

I can say what I like now because I am mental and I can't get done for it.2012 May 1, Liam Houlihan, Return To The Badlands: Twelve Enthralling True Cases Of Crooks, Cults And Crackpots, Melbourne Univ. Publishing, →ISBN:
Normally, when you pass a law in New Zealand, you can't be done for it if you broke the law in the past.2021, Brooke van Velden, comments in the New Zealand Parliament regarding the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill

Derived terms: 53 terms
after all is said and done, and be done with it, and have done with it, a woman's work is never done, bedone, be done for, be done with, be done with it, consider it done, done and dusted, done brown, done deal, done dotta, done for, done gone, done like a dinner, doneness, doner, donesies, done thing, done up, done up like a dog's dinner, done up like a kipper, easier said than done, fordone, get done for, get 'er done, get the job done, get work done, half-done, hard done by, have done, have done with, have work done, no harm done, no sooner said than done, not done, one-and-done, over and done, over and done with, overdone, predone, said and done, that's done it, the damage is done, underdone, undone, well begun is half done, well done, well-done, what has someone done, what's done is done, when all is said and done

done

verb

Etymology From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

1

Participle, Past past participle of do

There's nothing to be done.

2

Dialectal, Nonstandard, Past simple past of do; did.

I knew I done the right thing and I'd do it all over again.1985 December 14, Jack Leck, “Stick Together”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 22, page 4:
Be Still... and Know That I Am God: Devotions for Every Day of the Year She opened it up to find a quarter and a note scrawled in childish letters that said, "I done it for love."

3

Cockney, Southern US Used in forming the perfective aspect; have.

African-American Vernacular; taking a past tense; African-American Vernacular; taking a past tense

I woke up and found out she done left.
I done made some real bad choices with my life2020, Moneybagg Yo, “Thug Cry”:

1 more example

On my soul, this for my kids and the cold shit I done did2022, Nas, “Legit”, in King's Disease III:

done

intj

Etymology From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

1

Expresses that a task has been completed.

2

Expresses agreement to and conclusion of a proposal, a set of terms, a sale, a request, etc.

Riker: Would you be interested in selling me the ore you're carrying? / Yog: No. I have a buyer. / Riker: You haven't heard my offer. Half a gram of Anjoran biomimetic gel. / Yog: Done.1994, René Echevarria, “Firstborn”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 7, episode 21, Jonathan Frakes and Joel Swetow (actors):

Synonyms: all done, finished, there, voilà, agreed, done and done, you have a deal