Do or die

do-or-die

[doo-er-dahy]
adjective
1.
reflecting or characterized by an irrevocable decision to succeed at all costs; desperate; all-out: a do-or-die attempt to halt the invaders.
2.
involving a potentially fatal crisis or crucial emergency.
Origin:
1875–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged

do

1 [doo; unstressed doo, duh] verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person do, 2nd do or ( Archaic ) do·est or dost, 3rd does or ( Archaic ) do·eth or doth, present plural do; past singular 1st person did, 2nd did or ( Archaic ) didst, 3rd did, past plural did; past participle done; present participle do·ing; noun, plural dos, do's.
verb (used with object)
1.
to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.): Do nothing until you hear the bell.
2.
to execute (a piece or amount of work): to do a hauling job.
3.
to accomplish; finish; complete: He has already done his homework.
4.
to put forth; exert: Do your best.
5.
to be the cause of (good, harm, credit, etc.); bring about; effect.
6.
to render, give, or pay (homage, justice, etc.).
7.
to deal with, fix, clean, arrange, move, etc., (anything) as the case may require: to do the dishes.
8.
to travel; traverse: We did 30 miles today.
9.
to serve; suffice for: This will do us for the present.
10.
to condone or approve, as by custom or practice: That sort of thing simply isn't done.
11.
to travel at the rate of (a specified speed): He was doing 80 when they arrested him.
12.
to make or prepare: I'll do the salad.
13.
to serve (a term of time) in prison, or, sometimes, in office.
14.
to create, form, or bring into being: She does wonderful oil portraits.
15.
to translate into or change the form or language of: MGM did the book into a movie.
16.
to study or work at or in the field of: I have to do my math tonight.
17.
to explore or travel through as a sightseer: They did Greece in three weeks.
18.
(used with a pronoun, as it or that, or with a general noun, as thing, that refers to a previously mentioned action): You were supposed to write thank-you letters; do it before tomorrow, please.
19.
Informal. to wear out; exhaust; tire: That last set of tennis did me.
20.
Informal. to cheat, trick, or take advantage of: That crooked dealer did him for $500 at poker.
21.
Informal. to attend or participate in: Let's do lunch next week.
22.
Slang. to use (a drug or drugs), especially habitually: The police report said he was doing cocaine.
verb (used without object)
23.
to act or conduct oneself; be in action; behave.
24.
Slang. to rob; steal from: The law got him for doing a lot of banks.
25.
to proceed: to do wisely.
26.
to get along; fare; manage: to do without an automobile.
27.
to be in health, as specified: Mother and child are doing fine.
28.
to serve or be satisfactory, as for the purpose; be enough; suffice: Will this do?
29.
to finish or be finished.
30.
to happen; take place; transpire: What's doing at the office?
31.
(used as a substitute to avoid repetition of a verb or full verb expression): I think as you do.
auxiliary verb
32.
(used in interrogative, negative, and inverted constructions): Do you like music? I don't care. Seldom do we witness such catastrophes.
33.
Archaic. (used in imperatives with you or thou expressed; and occasionally as a metric filler in verse): Do thou hasten to the king's side. The wind did blow, the rain did fall.
34.
(used to lend emphasis to a principal verb): Do visit us!
noun
35.
Informal. a burst of frenzied activity; action; commotion.
36.
Informal. a hairdo or hair styling.
37.
British Slang. a swindle; hoax.
38.
Chiefly British. a festive social gathering; party.
Verb phrases
39.
do by, to deal with; treat: He had always done well by his family.
40.
do for,
a.
to cause the defeat, ruin, or death of.
b.
Chiefly British. to cook and keep house for; manage or provide for.
41.
do in, Informal.
a.
to kill, especially to murder.
b.
to injure gravely or exhaust; wear out; ruin: The tropical climate did them in.
c.
to cheat or swindle: He was done in by an unscrupulous broker.
42.
do over, to redecorate.
43.
do up, Informal.
a.
to wrap and tie up.
b.
to pin up or arrange (the hair).
c.
to renovate; launder; clean.
d.
to wear out; tire.
e.
to fasten: Do up your coat.
f.
to dress: The children were all done up in funny costumes.
44.
do with, to gain advantage or benefit from; make use of: I could do with more leisure time.
45.
do without,
a.
to forgo; dispense with.
b.
to dispense with the thing mentioned: The store doesn't have any, so you'll have to do without.
Idioms
46.
do a number on (someone). number ( def 39 ).
47.
do away with,
a.
to put an end to; abolish.
b.
to kill.
48.
do one proud. proud ( def 11 ).
49.
do one's number. number ( def 40 ).
50.
do one's (own) thing. thing1 ( def 19 ).
51.
do or die, to make a supreme effort.
52.
do out of, Informal. to swindle; cheat: A furniture store did me out of several hundred dollars.
53.
dos and don'ts, customs, rules, or regulations: The dos and don'ts of polite manners are easy to learn.
54.
do time, Informal. to serve a term in prison: It's hard to get a decent job once you've done time.
55.
do to death. death ( def 15 ).
56.
have to do with. have ( def 37 ).
57.
make do, to get along with what is at hand, despite its inadequacy: I can't afford a new coat so I have to make do with this one.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English dōn; cognate with Dutch doen, German tun; akin to Latin -dere to put, facere to make, do, Greek tithénai to set, put, Sanskrit dadhāti (he) puts

Synonyms
1, 25. act. 3. Do, accomplish, achieve mean to bring some action to a conclusion. Do is the general word: He did a great deal of hard work. Accomplish and achieve both connote successful completion of an undertaking. Accomplish emphasizes attaining a desired goal through effort, skill, and perseverance: to accomplish what one has hoped for. Achieve emphasizes accomplishing something important, excellent, or great: to achieve a major breakthrough.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To do or die
00:10
Do or die is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
do1 (duː, (unstressed) dʊ, də) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (often intr; foll by for) , does, doing, did, done
1.  to perform or complete (a deed or action): to do a portrait; the work is done
2.  to serve the needs of; be suitable for (a person, situation, etc); suffice: there isn't much food, but it'll do for the two of us
3.  (tr) to arrange or fix: you should do the garden now
4.  (tr) to prepare or provide; serve: this restaurant doesn't do lunch on Sundays
5.  (tr) to make tidy, elegant, ready, etc, as by arranging or adorning: to do one's hair
6.  (tr) to improve (esp in the phrase do something toorfor)
7.  (tr) to find an answer to (a problem or puzzle)
8.  (tr) to translate or adapt the form or language of: the book was done into a play
9.  (intr) to conduct oneself: do as you please
10.  (intr) to fare or manage: how are you doing these days?
11.  (tr) to cause or produce: complaints do nothing to help
12.  (tr) to give or render: your portrait doesn't do you justice; do me a favour
13.  (tr) to work at, esp as a course of study or a profession: he is doing chemistry; what do you do for a living?
14.  (tr) to perform (a play, etc); act: they are doing ``Hamlet'' next week
15.  (tr) to travel at a specified speed, esp as a maximum: this car will do 120 mph
16.  (tr) to travel or traverse (a distance): we did 15 miles on our walk
17.  (takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary before the subject of an interrogative sentence as a way of forming a question: do you agree?; when did John go out?
18.  (takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary to intensify positive statements and commands: I do like your new house; do hurry!
19.  (takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary before a negative adverb to form negative statements or commands: he does not like cheese; do not leave me here alone!
20.  (takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in inverted constructions: little did he realize that; only rarely does he come in before ten o'clock
21.  used as an auxiliary to replace an earlier verb or verb phrase to avoid repetition: he likes you as much as I do
22.  informal (tr) to visit or explore as a sightseer or tourist: to do Westminster Abbey
23.  (tr) to wear out; exhaust
24.  (intr) to happen (esp in the phrase nothing doing)
25.  slang (tr) to serve (a period of time) as a prison sentence: he's doing three years for burglary; he's doing time
26.  informal (tr) to cheat or swindle
27.  slang (tr) to rob: they did three shops last night
28.  slang (tr)
 a.  to arrest
 b.  to convict of a crime
29.  informal (Austral) (tr) to lose or spend (money) completely
30.  slang chiefly (Brit) (tr) to treat violently; assault
31.  slang (tr) to take or use (a drug)
32.  taboo, slang (tr) (of a male) to have sexual intercourse with
33.  (tr) to partake in (a meal): let's do lunch
34.  informal do, do a to act like; imitate: he's a good mimic – he can do all his friends well
35.  do or die to make a final or supreme effort
36.  how do you do? a conventional formula when being introduced
37.  make do to manage with whatever is available
 
—n , does, doing, did, done, dos, do's
38.  slang an act or instance of cheating or swindling
39.  informal chiefly (Brit), (NZ) a formal or festive gathering; party
40.  informal do's and don'ts those things that should or should not be done; rules
 
[Old English dōn; related to Old Frisian duān, Old High German tuon, Latin abdere to put away, Greek tithenai to place; see deed, doom]

do2 (dəʊ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl dos
a variant spelling of doh

do3
 
—the internet domain name for
Dominican Republic

DO
 
—abbreviation for
1.  Doctor of Optometry
2.  Doctor of Osteopathy

do-or-die
 
—adj
(prenominal) of or involving a determined and sometimes reckless effort to succeed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

do
M.E. do, first person singular of O.E. don "make, act, perform, cause," from W.Gmc. *don, from PIE base *dhe- "to put, place, do, make" (see factitious). Slang meaning "to do the sex act with or to" is from 1913. Third person does was a Northumbrian variant in O.E. that
displaced doth, doeth 16c.-17c. The pt. did is O.E. dyde, the only remainder in Gmc. of the old linguistic pattern of forming a pt. by reduplication of the stem of the present tense. Far back in Gmc. the equivalent of did was used as a suffix to make the past tenses of other verbs, hence the English -ed suffix (O.E. -de). The pp. done grew out of O.E. pp. gedon, but the only vestige of the prefix is in ado. Use as an auxiliary began in M.E. Periphrastic form in negative sentences ("They did not think") replaced the O.E. negative particles ("Hie ne wendon"). U.S. Southern use of done in phrases like "he done gone to the store" is attested from 1827, according to OED: "a perfective auxiliary or with adverbial force in the sense 'already; completely.' " Slang done for "doomed" is from 1842. Expression do or die is attested from 1620s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

do definition


  1. n.
    a party; a social event. : I'm having a do for a friend this weekend. Would you like to come?
  2. tv. & in.
    to use a drug or drugs in general. (See also do a line; do drugs.) : Taylor never stopped doing. She just switched from dust to splash.
  3. n.
    and doo. a hairdo. : I can't go out in this rain and get my doo wet!

  4. Go to (must) do. :
  5. in.
    to serve (a purpose) well. (Usually with will or won't.) : This will do quite nicely.

  6. Go to doo-doo. :
  7. tv.
    to copulate [with] someone. (Usually objectionable.) : He did Martha, then he did Sue, then he did Gloria.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

do or die definition


  1. mod.
    having to try as hard as one can. : He has the obsessive do or die attitude.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

do (so) definition


  1. tv.
    to make someone tired. : That tennis game really did me in.
  2. tv.
    to cheat someone; to take (so) in. : The scam artists did the widow in by talking her into giving them all the money in her bank account.
  3. tv.
    to kill someone. : The crooks did the bank guard in.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
DO

  1. defense order

  2. dissolved oxygen

  3. Doctor of Optometry

  4. Doctor of Osteopathy

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

do or die

Exert supreme effort because failure is close at hand, as in Carol was going to set up the computer, do or die. This hyperbolic expression in effect says one will not be deterred by any obstacle. [c. 1600]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriHome Advisor
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT