do the deed

English

Etymology

Earliest attested usage is from Middle English: 1340, Ayenbite of Inwyt "Ȝete þai ben al clene; Haue þai no dede y-done" ("Yet they are all clean; They have not had intercourse"); and in 1443, Reginald Pecock, The Rule of Christian Religion: "By force hath he..don that dede, That he hath reft hire of hire maydenhede." (By force he has done that deed, That he has deprived her of her virginity.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

do the deed (third-person singular simple present does the deed, present participle doing the deed, simple past did the deed, past participle done the deed)

1. (euphemistic) To have sex.
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: to do a given deed.

Synonyms

• see Thesaurus:copulate

Derived terms

• deedworthy