do anything

idiom

1
: to take an action that is considered wrong or suspicious or of particular interest
If he does anything, let me know.
often used in negative statements
"Why is she mad?" "I don't know. I didn't do anything."
2
: to be occupied with something
I need to start dinner, but I can't do anything until you get out of the way.
If you're not doing anything this evening, why not come over for dinner?

Examples of do anything in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Because people this cutthroat and productivity-pilled never do anything just for fun, much less in the name of friendship, their initial agreement that no business will transpire during the weekend quickly buckles under the weight of each character’s ulterior motives. Judy Berman, Time, 23 May 2025 His failure to do anything resembling work, even to manage taking his boys to school in the morning while his wife Terri (Alana Haim) goes to her dreary office, is well known; the politics of women’s liberation has yet to revolutionize the personal in their house. Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 23 May 2025 Simion could now cite the court decision as evidence of his core narrative that Romania’s elites, backed by the EU and western European governments and shielded by opaque judges, would do anything to block a true representative of the people. Veronica Anghel, Foreign Affairs, 21 May 2025 What was an elite service speed just 30 years ago, when Pete Sampras was getting above 120 mph and nobody could do anything about it, has become the average. Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for do anything

Cite this Entry

“Do anything.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do%20anything. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.

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