Sudo

//ˈsuː.duː// name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Unix command that allows a user to run a program with the security privileges of another user. uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To invoke such a command.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Japanese.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Originally understood as a blend of superuser + do, now has evolved to be an abbreviation of substitute user, do.

Etymology 2

From Japanese 須藤 (Sudō).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.