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Glite Dictionary
well-to-do

well-to-do

22 4.2
People who have plenty of money and live comfortably
  • adjective
  • /ˌwɛl tə ˈdu/
translation icon : acomodado
  • I know he comes from a well-to-do family.
  • well-to-do family
  • well-to-do people
  • well-to-do man

We're talking about very well to do young men, right?

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Examples

  • I mention it only because the patient is a twenty-nine-year-old woman from a well-to-do Boston family.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But you know, he's from a fairly well to do family.

  • So, you know, the really well to do gentleman came in.

    Tom Ferry

  • In her words, you could say that I was born into a well-to-do family.

    Academic text (2008)

  • You see, I used to go out with a very handsome young man, well-to-do, called Bob Thompson.

    The Castle (1997)

  • Most of the new priests had just completed their studies and came from well-to-do urban backgrounds.

    Academic text (1990)

  • We had a well-to-do homestead, a nice piece of land, and a house you'd thank God for.

    War and Peace (1956)

  • A year later, Adu meets Aboloway, a handsome and well-to-do man who wants to marry her.

    Academic text (2011)

  • His quick rise from poor ghetto beginnings to a well-to-do businessman owning several bars and a $650,000 home.

    American Wisper (2020)

  • I know he comes from a well-to-do family.

Synonyms

rich
vswell-to-do
∞ 1.0

Having a lot of money and valuable things

describes a lower, comfortable wealth level rather than vast riches
wealthy
vswell-to-do
520 2.5

Having a lot of money and many expensive things

denotes a lesser, more moderate level of wealth rather than great riches
comfortable
vswell-to-do
107 2.9

Having enough money to live without money worries

implies more wealth and a higher standard than mere sufficiency
prosperous
vswell-to-do
83 4.1

Doing well and having a lot of money

focuses more on steady success than on only having moderate wealth
well-off
vswell-to-do
33 3.4

Having enough money to live comfortably

suggests slightly greater material comfort and status than that phrase
well-heeled
vswell-to-do
11 7.2

Having a lot of money

is moderately wealthy rather than very lavish or luxurious
well-situated
vswell-to-do
1 4.8

A person or family that has enough money and lives comfortably

is about general comfortable wealth rather than just a favourable position
well-fixed
vswell-to-do
6.6

Having enough money to live comfortably

is somewhat richer in tone, implying more than mere security

Antonyms

poor
∞ 1.0

Having little money or possessions

impoverished
50 6.2

People or places that have very little money and few things they need

How Rich

wealthy
520 2.5
affluent
67 5.5
well-to-do
22 4.2
comfortable
107 2.9
modest
192 3.3
poor
∞ 1.0
destitute
20 6.5

Surface Forms

well-to-do positive

Morphology

well-to-do = to + do (semi-transparent) = well + to + do

The components 'well' and 'do' are positive words, but the fixed phrase 'well-to-do' specifically means 'wealthy', which is somewhat idiomatic and not fully predictable from the parts for an average learner. [Postprocessing: moved 'well' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Well-to-do comes from the plain words well, to, and do, basically meaning someone who is 'doing well' in life. So, well-to-do is used for people or families who have enough money and live comfortably.