bustling activity; fuss; bother; delay (esp in the phrases without more ado, with much ado)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
a•do /əˈdu/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- delaying activity:Without further ado, I now present our guest.
- fuss;
bustle;
to-do:much ado about party plans.
a•do
(ə do̅o̅′),USA pronunciation n.
- busy activity;
bustle;
fuss.
- Old Norse, which used at with the infinitive) + do do1
- Middle English (north) at do, a phrase equivalent. to at to (1250–1300
- flurry; confusion, upset, excitement; hubbub, noise, turmoil. Ado, to-do, commotion, stir, tumult suggest a great deal of fuss and noise. Ado implies a confused bustle of activity, a considerable emotional upset, and a great deal of talking:Much Ado About Nothing.To-do, now more commonly used, may mean merely excitement and noise and may be pleasant or unpleasant:a great to-do over a movie star.Commotion suggests a noisy confusion and babble:commotion at the scene of an accident.Stir suggests excitement and noise, with a hint of emotional cause:The report was followed by a tremendous stir in the city.Tumult suggests disorder with noise and violence:a tumult as the mob stormed the Bastille.
- calm, peace, tranquillity.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
accumulated day off
'ado' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Ade
- Ado-Ekiti
- Benedick
- Much Ado About Nothing
- adobe flat
- aficionado
- agitation
- amontillado
- bustle
- charade
- coil
- commotion
- dogberry
- empanada
- enchilada
- excitement
- farthingale
- favelado
- flurry
- fuss
- gambado
- haste
- hurry
- juramentado
- posada
- pousada
- splash
- stir
- stoccado
- to-do
- tumult