How to Use derring-do in a Sentence

derring-do

noun
  • Why, deeds of derring-do, of course, or at least a bit of hearty axe-swinging.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Passersby with timing and a certain derring-do have measured their odds and eyed their paths.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
  • In this version, the derring-do is more covert and the battles mostly take place behind closed doors.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Much derring-do, in their quest for unimaginable riches, would ensue.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024
  • Spy movies often play up the action, but there’s a lot of paperwork behind the derring-do.
    — Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Expect to see the young stars of tomorrow in all manner of derring-do, from aerial acts to juggling.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Helen Gibson wowed audiences with her jumps, falls, and derring-do.
    — Hannah Fish, Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Ziva and Tony aren’t technically spies or cops when the series starts, but old derring-do habits die hard.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Miu Miu wrapped the week in Paris with a derring-do mash up of sportif couture — utterly unique and playful!
    — Rhonda Richford, WWD, 2 Oct. 2024
  • Look at you, Bill Eversleigh, getting into feats of derring-do!
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Each play essential parts in the action, and do their fair share of conniving and derring-do to aid or defeat the grand, evil purposes of the bad guys.
    — Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
  • In the end, notes can be merely notions, providing new ways of describing a perfumer’s masterful derring-do.
    — Town & Country, 1 May 2023
  • There’s real valor, if not derring-do, in their songwriting, which never lands on anything resembling treacle.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023
  • The Bursteins ran their shop with a sense of derring-do, determination — and a willingness to defy convention.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 19 Feb. 2026
  • His dumb derring-do went viral on VHS tapes, earning him an MTV show and five feature films.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
  • Larger than life does not do him justice; Arnett was a newsman’s newsman, full of tales of derring-do in Vietnam and many other wars around the globe.
    — Peter Bergen, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
  • The results include a handful of showdowns—one in the Khan family house, several in outer space—and some derring-do with spacecraft.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The early years of the motion-picture industry were centered around fights, on shootouts, on slapstick pratfalls, and other feats of physical derring-do.
    — Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
  • Pink may be known for her feats of derring-do, but there’s no fearlessness like withstanding the slings and arrows of being a reasonably outspoken public figure.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2023
  • What follows is an overlong concatenation of OK set pieces featuring oodles of predictable globe-hopping derring-do.
    — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2023
  • Usually some combination of bold ambition, auteur cred, and technical derring-do.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025
  • This is a prime example of the Pixar canon’s ability to weave real feeling into the scenario, without sacrificing humor or derring-do.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
  • There was never a ton of conventional derring-do on his resume, even in Ron Howard's rather straightforward fantasy adventure.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025
  • The journalist turned novelist, who saw his share of derring-do as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, was one of the most influential authors of his genre.
    — Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2025
  • Over the years, Orlando city officials learned to listen to Snow, to marvel at his extracurricular feats of derring-do and to buy into his high-flying dreams.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Boyd’s memoir vividly paints that place and time, spiced by tales of derring-do — trapping wolves for radio-collar research, surviving close calls with grizzly bears, crossing icy rivers and flying small planes low over dangerous terrain.
    — Ben Long, The Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2024
  • Whitney shepherds a sky-high Henry from the dance floor, where things were getting steamy, to a glory hole, presumably so the Industry FX guy can show off his derring-do.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
  • When alone, Lois chides him over the journalistic ethics of interviewing himself after some derring-do, and questions his flying into countries without their leaders’ approval.
    — Jake Coyle, Mercury News, 10 July 2025
  • Small operators, with far less infrastructure than a utility company and far more derring-do, might experiment more freely and come up with valuable innovations more quickly.
    — Ross Koningstein, IEEE Spectrum, 18 Nov. 2014
  • Trump’s baseless accusations and his flat-out lies are as essential to his public identity as are his tales of financial derring-do, his coarse language, his prejudices and his listing toward autocracy.
    — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'derring-do.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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