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do away with

B1 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

To completely remove or stop something so it no longer exists.

Literal meaning: To send something away so completely that it is gone.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic neutral

To completely abolish or eliminate a law, rule, practice, or institution.

"Many campaigners are calling for the government to do away with the tax on basic food items."

"We did away with the old ways of doing things."

— Widely attributed paraphrase from Barack Obama's political speeches on reform, 2008
Grammar: inseparable
2 C1 idiomatic informal

To kill someone. (Informal, dated)

"In the old detective novels, the villain always tries to do away with anyone who knows the truth."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B1 idiomatic neutral

To stop using or needing something.

"Digital ticketing has done away with the need to queue at the box office."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Common in formal and informal contexts. Often used in political or social discussions to describe abolishing laws, rules, or traditions. The meaning 'to kill' is informal and somewhat dated, more common in older fiction and detective stories.

Commonly used with

rule law tradition system penalty requirement

Forms

Base
do away with
I/you/we/they
3rd person
does away with
he/she/it
Past simple
did away with
yesterday
Past participle
done away with
have + pp
-ing form
doing away with
continuous

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Synonyms

abolish eliminate get rid of eradicate scrap do without

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