English Reference
Idiom idiom

do right by


To treat, deal with, or act toward (someone) in a morally just, socially honorable fashion.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

You should do right by your friends and tell the truth.

CONTEXTUAL

The company promised to do right by the employees who lost their jobs during the recent restructuring.

COMPLEX

He felt a heavy moral obligation to do right by his late father, ensuring the family estate was managed with absolute integrity.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all rights reserved

    The copyright holder of a creative work reserves all copyright-related rights, typically including the right to publish the work, to make derivative works of it, to distribute it, to make profit from it, to license a number of these rights to other people, and to forbid these uses by any unauthorized people, thus being entitled to take legal action against infringement.

  2. 02

    bang to rights

    Red-handed, (caught) in the act.

  3. 03

    bragging rights

    The prerogative to praise oneself for a skill or accomplishment.

  4. 04

    come right

    to have a successful or satisfying conclusion; to end well

  5. 05

    coming right up

    Used by the speaker to indicate readiness to provide something ordered or requested.

  6. 06

    damn right

    Expresses enthusiastic support or opposition, agreement or disagreement, certainty or emphasis.

  7. 07

    dead to rights

    With sufficient evidence to establish responsibility definitively.

  8. 08

    do the right thing

    To do what is ethical or just.

Last updated August 10, 2026