ado

American  

[uh-doo] / əˈdu /

noun

1. busy activity or bustle; fuss; bother.

   Much more ado has been made over this allegation than the facts warrant.

   Synonyms:

   uproar, turmoil, noise, hubbub, excitement, confusion, commotion, to-do, flurry

   Antonyms:

   tranquility, peace, calm

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idioms

1. without further ado, without additional preamble, preliminaries, or other delay.

   Well, without further ado, let's get down to the details of our master plan.

ADO ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. accumulated day off

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ado ² British  

/ əˈduː /

noun

1. bustling activity; fuss; bother; delay (esp in the phrases without more ado, with much ado )

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Related Words

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.

Etymology

Origin of ado

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (north) at do, a phrase equivalent to at “to” (from Old Norse, which used at with the infinitive) + do do ¹

Example Sentences

So this new crop of concerns might turn out to be much ado about nothing.

From Barron's • Dec. 4, 2025

For U.S. shoppers hoping for relief, however, it’s looking like much ado about nothing.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 24, 2025

Mark McAfee, the farmer and raw milk advocate whose Raw Farm dairy outside Fresno produced the contaminated product, told NPR in May that concerns about raw milk amounted to “much ado about zero.”

From Slate • Dec. 4, 2024

“We suspect this is much ado about nothing,” he wrote in a note to clients.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2024

“But now you can all see it’s quite golden. So strive for excellence. Now, without further ado, let us proceed to the badge presentations and talent enhancements.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston