do business—
1. conduct transactions:
- The principle on which we do business is P.O.D. Which literally means Pay on Delivery.
2. take up business as a subject of study:
- I did Business at college. I also did Accounting as a separate course.
do the business—
1. = do business 1:
- The way we do the business, and even the way we live our lives has altered.
2. (also: do the job) accomplish one’s purpose; achieve the desired result:
- Two simple rules well observed will do the business.
3. (euph.) have sex with a person: So he went home with her:
- Do you think they did the business?
Note: Neither expression fully correlates in meaning with the phrase do one’s business—
1. = do business:
- Every new employee goes to a Pragmatic Marketing class, because we want them to understand how we do our business here.
2. (euph., of an animal) urinate or defecate:
- You can’t teach it to eat from a certain bowl in a certain place, or to do its business in a litter box.