Done

How to spell done

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce done

What does done mean?

1. adjectiveCompleted, finished, or brought to an end.
2. adjectiveCooked sufficiently and ready to eat.

Done in a sentence

• The report is finally done and ready to send.

• Check that the chicken is properly done before serving.

• Once the laundry is done, fold it and put it away.

• The steak was done exactly the way he liked it.

Where does done come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the past participle of the everyday verb 'do', which comes from Old English 'don', meaning to make, act, or perform. The form 'done' developed from the Old English past participle 'gedon', losing its old 'ge-' prefix over the centuries as English shed such markers. The word belongs to a deep Germanic family and is related to the Dutch 'doen' and German 'tun', all tracing back to a root meaning to set or place. Although it looks as if it should rhyme with 'bone' or 'stone', the spelling kept its old vowel while the pronunciation shifted, which is why 'done' sounds like 'dun' and trips up writers who reach for the homophone. That gap between the 'o' on the page and the 'uh' sound in the ear is the lasting spelling trap.

How the word is built

• do (Old English don: to perform, act)
• -ne (past participle ending)

Words that sound like done

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• dun: Of a dull greyish-brown colour, especially used of a horse's coat.