ENGLISH
REFERENCE

do in

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to make someone feel extremely tired or to kill someone; it can also mean to damage something badly.

phr. v.. to exhaust or fatigue someone; in a different register, to murder or kill; also used to describe damaging or ruining an object or body part.


SIMPLE

That long walk really did me in.

CONTEXTUAL

He didn't realize that lifting those heavy boxes would do his back in for the rest of the week.

COMPLEX

The detective suspected that the rival gang had finally decided to do him in over the unpaid debt.

Particles
in
Separability
optional
Pattern
do + (object) + in
Usage

highly informal; the 'exhaust' sense is common in daily speech, while the 'kill' sense is often found in crime fiction.

Teaching tip

focus on the 'exhaust' sense for general learners, but mention the 'kill' sense as a common trope in movies and books to avoid confusion.

Pitfall

The workout did in me.The workout did me in.when using a pronoun like 'me' or 'him', it must go between 'do' and 'in'.

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