undo

verb
/ʌnˈduː/

Etymology

From Middle English undōn, from Old English ondōn, from Proto-West Germanic *andadōn (“to undo”), equivalent to un- + do. Cognate with West Frisian ûndwaan, ûntdwaan (“to undo; rid”), Dutch ontdoen (“to undo”).

  1. inherited from *andadōn — “to undo
  2. inherited from ondōn
  3. inherited from undōn

Definitions

  1. To reverse the effects of an action.

    • Fortunately, we can undo most of the damage to the system by the war.
    • What's done can't be undone.
    • Pro.[…]it was a torment / To lay vpon the damn'd, which Sycorax / Could not againe vndoe ; it was mine Art, / When I arriu'd, and heard thee, that made gape / The Pyne, and let thee out.
  2. To unfasten.

    • Could you undo my buckle for me?
  3. To unfasten the clothing of (a person).

    • PROSTITUTE: Undo me. There's a dear.
  4. + 3 more definitions
    1. To impoverish or ruin, as in reputation

      To impoverish or ruin, as in reputation; to cause the downfall of.

      • Woe is me, for I am undone!
    2. An operation that reverses a previous action.

      • How many undos does this program support?
    3. Misspelling of undue.

The neighborhood

  • antonymredoantonym(s) of “reverse effects”
  • antonymdo upantonym(s) of “unfasten”
  • antonymbuttonantonym(s) of “unfasten”
  • antonymbutton upantonym(s) of “unfasten”
  • antonymtie upantonym(s) of “unfasten”
  • antonymzipantonym(s) of “unfasten”
  • antonymzip upantonym(s) of “unfasten”

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at undo. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01undo02clothing03clothes04items05item06separate07disunite08disintegrate

A definitional loop anchored at undo. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at undo

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA