Word
DIY
Phoneticsdiy
Definitions
01home improvement
n. Stands for Do It Yourself. The activity of repairing or decorating your home yourself.
n. Abbreviation for Do It Yourself. The practice of performing home maintenance, repairs, or creative projects without professional assistance.
“He spent the whole weekend doing some DIY in the kitchen.”
“The rise of online video tutorials has transformed DIY from a niche hobby into a mainstream approach to home renovation.”
Usage
Often used as an uncountable noun or as a modifier before another noun.
Teaching tip
While 'DIY' can technically apply to any task, it most commonly refers to home repair and decoration in a British English context.
Synonyms
02made by yourself
adj. describes something you make or build yourself rather than buying it ready-made.
adj. Relating to or designed for use in do-it-yourself activities; often describes self-made or amateur-built items.
“She followed a DIY guide to build her own bookshelf.”
“The band gained a following through their DIY aesthetic, producing their own posters and distributing hand-copied CDs.”
Usage
Usually placed before the noun it describes.
Synonyms
Antonyms
03to do it yourself
v. to do a task yourself, especially one that an expert usually does.
v. To engage in do-it-yourself activities; to perform a technical or manual task without professional help.
“If you want to save money on the repairs, you might have to DIY it.”
“Rather than hiring a mechanic, he decided to DIY the brake replacement using tools he borrowed from a neighbour.”
Informal
Usage
Often used with 'it' as a dummy object.
Teaching tip
Using DIY as a verb is more informal than using it as a noun or adjective.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Initialism of do it yourself.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/diy