Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

do one's own thing

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.35 in modern English

Syllables: do one's own thing
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

1

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To do what one considers to be best suited or most satisfying for oneself; to do what expresses one's distinctive interests or talents; to do as one chooses.

Dated; Informal

Example Sentences

"The psychological patter of the '70s is as inescapable as Muzak and just as numbing: Are you relating? Going through heavy changes? In touch with yourself and doing your own thing?"
"This weekend, Mr. Rouse is doing his own thing: leading his own quartet with John Hicks on piano, Santi DeBriano on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums, and playing his own compositions."
"OK, so I want my kids to find their own way, do their own thing, become their own people."
"If we look at Stephen Harper’s wife, she was basically a non-entity in public. She maintained real distance from political life and just kept doing her own thing."

Etymology

1960s counterculture.

Usage

Inflected Forms

does one's own thing (present, singular) doing one's own thing (participle, present) did one's own thing (past) done one's own thing (participle, past)

Synonyms

suit oneself

Questions

What does do one's own thing mean?: To do what one considers to be best suited or most satisfying for oneself; to do what expresses one's distinctive interests or talents; to do as one chooses.
Where does do one's own thing come from?: 1960s counterculture.

How to pronounce do one's own thing

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