Word.ws English Dictionary

doing one's darnedest

doing one's darnedest is the present participle and gerund of do one's darnedest.

Meaning of do one's darnedest

Verb

do one's darnedest (third-person singular simple present does one's darnedest, present participle doing one's darnedest, simple past did one's darnedest, past participle done one's darnedest)

  1. (euphemistic, idiomatic) To do one's utmost; to make every effort or to try every possible approach or way.
    • I don't think he'll succeed, but he's doing his darnedest to build a working spaceship.

Questions about doing one's darnedest

What is doing one's darnedest the present participle and gerund of?
Doing one's darnedest is the present participle and gerund of do one's darnedest.

Words near doing one's darnedest in the dictionary

  1. doing numbers
  2. doing off
  3. doing one's bit
  4. doing one's business
  5. doing one's damnedest
  6. doing one's darnedest
  7. doing one's duty
  8. doing one's ease
  9. doing one's easement
  10. doing one's homework
  11. doing one's job

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: doing one's darnedest (page history and authors); do one's darnedest (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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