to do well
136
2.6
- phrasal verb
- /du wɛl/
:
hacer bien en
- As long as you remember your most important duty, you should do well.
- do well to remember
- do well to heed
- do well to recall
Those people would do well to avoid certain supplements.
- Those people would do well to avoid certain supplements.
- And God says if you did well, you, you'd be accepted.
Examples
-
In thinking about green accounting, we would do well to remember that it is still relatively new.
Academic text (1996) -
To succeed in life, it is important to learn how to do well in your career.
-
You have to care enough to do well, right?
-
The brand seems to be doing well and that is the main thing.
-
All right, Team is doing well so that can help as well.
-
Of course, the boys would do well to go looking for food somewhere else.
Fiction book (1994) -
Also, being able to map the passage helped me do well on the associated questions.
Academic text (2015) -
But as an overall guide, we would all do well to keep them firmly in mind.
Academic text (2011) -
The Church, like any other open organizational system, does well to take note of this.
Academic text (1991) -
You would do well to consider the seriousness... ...of the situation you're in.
How Wise
136
2.6
42
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to perform satisfactorily or be successful' is directly and transparently composed from 'do' (to perform/manage) + 'well' (in a satisfactory or skillful manner). This is a common, literal verb + adverb construction found across many languages and thus easily predictable for a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Do well comes from the simple picture of do plus well: to act in a way that is good or helpful. Imagine someone who quickly apologizes after an argument — they did well because they chose the better action, so the phrase means 'to make a good decision'.