without much further ado

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseformal

   Used to say that you will now stop talking and begin the next part of an event.

   Grammar: A fixed phrase, not a normal noun phrase: it never takes a plural or an article, and it usually stands at the end of a sentence.

   Patterns

   • without much further ado, let us ...
   • and so, without much further ado, ...
   • introduce someone without much further ado

   Without much further ado, let me welcome tonight's first speaker.

   The host thanked the sponsors and then, without much further ado, brought the band on stage.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseformal

   Used to mean that something is done at once, with no more waiting or discussion.

   Grammar: Here it follows a verb of doing or deciding and works like an adverbial phrase, so no preposition or article is added.

   Patterns

   • do something without much further ado
   • proceed without much further ado
   • be signed without much further ado

   The committee read the report and approved the plan without much further ado.

   Both sides wanted the deal finished, so the papers were signed without much further ado.

Common combinations

without much further ado, let us begin

Without much further ado, let us begin this afternoon's session.

and so, without much further ado

And so, without much further ado, here is the award winner.

welcome someone without much further ado

She welcomed the guests without much further ado and led them to their seats.

proceed without much further ado

The chair asked us to proceed without much further ado.

dismiss something without much further ado

The judge dismissed the complaint without much further ado.

Synonyms and how they differ

without further delay

This also means 'with no more waiting', but it can be used in ordinary speech and writing, while 'without much further ado' sounds formal and slightly old-fashioned.

right away

This simply means 'immediately' and is very informal; it does not carry the sense of moving an event on to its next item.

straightaway

This means 'at once' and is common in British English; it says nothing about introducing a speaker or a new stage.

Opposites

Word family

ado noun

Fussy activity or trouble over something; it survives mainly in the older phrase 'without further ado'.

Commonly confused: without much further ado or without further notice? without much further ado or without much further adieu?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “without much further ado”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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