done

1 of 2

(ˈ)dən 

past participle of do

—also used in several varieties of English (such as African American English) typically before a past tense verb form to communicate that something (such as an action) has ended

"I done learned my mistake and learned to do what's right by it."

—August Wilson

"You ain't just cooked your goose; you done cremated it, my man!"

—Mary Monroe

Note: In linguistics, these uses of done are referred to as perfective done or preverbal done. The uses that are specific to African American English, which are unstressed in pronunciation, are also referred to as dən or unstressed done.

done

2 of 2

adjective

1

: arrived at or brought to an end

One more question and we're done.

2

: doomed to failure, defeat, or death

3

: gone by : over

The day of the circus big top is done.

4

: physically exhausted

5

food : cooked sufficiently

Check to see if the meat is done.

6

: conformable to social convention

not the done thing

Synonyms

Adjective

• complete
• completed
• concluded
• down
• ended
• finished
• over
• over with
• terminated
• through
• up

Examples of done in a Sentence

Adjective

Check to see if the meat is done.

Getting a divorce just wasn't done at the time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Owner Jason Boso fixed that, infusing $2 million into the 10-year-old bar on better bathrooms, a covered section of the patio and a re-done kitchen. —Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 3 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing done

• be done with
• be done with it
• consider it done
• done deal
• done for
• done to a turn
• easier said than done
• hard done by
• have done
• have done with
• have done with it
• justice is served/done
• no harm done
• no sooner said than done
• over and done with
• perfective done
• preverbal done
• unstressed done
• well-done
• when all is said and done

Kids Definition

done

1 of 2

ˈdən 

past participle of do

done

2 of 2 adjective

1

—used to say that something has ended

2

: cooked completely or enough

3

: socially acceptable

divorce just wasn't done at the time

4

: doomed to failure, death, or defeat

5

: physically exhausted