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Glite Dictionary
leaving do

leaving do

9.5
A party to say goodbye to someone leaving a job or group
  • noun
  • /ˈliːvɪŋ duː/
  • UK
translation icon : fiesta de despedida
  • Everyone attended Mark's leaving do to wish him well at his new company.

Examples

  • And I had my leaving do there, and my father had his leaving do there.

  • At her leaving do, friends shared funny stories and memories.

  • We organized a leaving do for Sarah to celebrate her new job.

Synonyms

do
vsleaving do
  • UK
22 9.3

A lively party or social gathering

is a party specifically to mark a person's departure from a job or group
send-off
vsleaving do
15 3.7

An event to wish someone well before they leave or start something

is a social party specifically held to mark someone's departure from a role
leave-taking
vsleaving do
  • Formal
1 7.0

To say goodbye in a polite or formal way

is a social gathering rather than the simple act of saying farewell

How Big

gala
72 3.7
reception
167 3.3
leaving do
  • UK
9.5
gathering
203 1.0
get-together
  • Informal
46 1.9

Surface Forms

leaving do singular
leaving dos plural

Morphology

leaving + do

The meaning 'a party to mark someone's departure' is directly and compositionally built from 'leaving' (departure) + 'do' (an informal party). This is a common, productive naming pattern (compare 'wedding do', 'birthday do') and corresponds to the universal concept of a farewell gathering, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Leaving do comes from the simple word do, which people use to mean a 'party', and leaving, which means someone is going away from a job or place. People at work often get together for a small do when a colleague leaves, so leaving do means a party to mark someone's departure.