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
• fuss
• stir
• 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

Harris has continued to do a lot for the Trojans, who notched their first victory under interim coach Jimmy McCormack with a 50-7 win. — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026

Meta is also promising to do a better job of verifying users' ages and has agreed to report regularly to an independent auditor. — Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Instead, Ronnie Chatterji says, they can be seen in the tasks workers are increasingly able to do themselves, including work that might have fallen to colleagues in other roles. — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

But that didn’t mean the group wasn’t still prepared to make one last swing around other parts of the world, or even to do one-off concerts in the States. — Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Aug. 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