Word.ws English Dictionary

don't ask, don't tell

don't ask, don't tell phrase: a policy of the U.S. military from 1993 to 2011, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from serving in the military, while also barring discrimination against closeted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.

Phrase

don't ask, don't tell

  1. (US) A policy of the U.S. military from 1993 to 2011, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from serving in the military, while also barring discrimination against closeted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
  2. (broadly, humorous, often) Applied to various other policies that prohibit a behavior but also discourage investigation of it.

Forms of don't ask, don't tell

alternative formdon't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursue
alternative initialismDADT

Questions about don't ask, don't tell

What does don't ask, don't tell mean?
Don't ask, don't tell means a policy of the U.S. military from 1993 to 2011, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from serving in the military, while also barring discrimination against closeted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
What part of speech is don't ask, don't tell?
Don't ask, don't tell is a phrase.

Words near don't ask, don't tell in the dictionary

  1. don't argued
  2. don't argues
  3. don't arguing
  4. don't ask
  5. don't ask me
  6. don't ask, don't tell
  7. don't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursue
  8. don't be a fool, wrap your tool
  9. don't be a stranger
  10. don't be that guy
  11. don't bite the newbie

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: don't ask, don't tell (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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