do any good

Idioms

Improve a situation or effect a favorable result, as in Tell me if this new medicine does any good. [Early 1700s] A negative version, do no good, is slightly older (late 1600s); for example, All his explanations will do no good.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mama cried a lot in those days, and she prayed a lot, too; but nothing seemed to do any good.

From Literature

“Just last week I put an extra rail on the pasture fence. It didn’t do any good though. She sailed over it as if it wasn’t even there.”

From Literature

We kept a bell on the jumping old thing, but that didn’t do any good.

From Literature

I was aching all over to have Papa go with me to look for the monkey, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good to ask him.

From Literature

“No,” Grandpa said, eying the trap and rubbing his nose, “it wouldn’t do any good to poke a stick in it. We wouldn’t know any more then than we do now.”

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023