Word.ws English Dictionary

n't

n't contraction: not.

Contraction

n't

  1. (colloquial, contraction, dated) not
    • Do n’t tell me you ‘have n’t got time,’ / That other things claim your attention; / There ’s not the least reason or rhyme / In the wisest excuse you can mention: / Do n’t tell me about ‘other fish,’ / Your duty is done when you buy ’em; / And you never will relish the dish, / Unless you ’ve a...1845 March, “Editor’s Table”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XXV, New York, N.Y.: […] John Allen, […], page 267, columns 1–2
    • Will n't ye gie us a bit o' time ?—Will n't ye consent to mak' your changes rather more slowly?1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Noah and Moses”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 196

Origin of n't

Contraction of not.

Phrases with n't

Questions about n't

What does n't mean?
N't means not.
What part of speech is n't?
N't is a contraction.

Words near n't in the dictionary

  1. N'ko
  2. n'ly
  3. N'Orleans
  4. N'Orlins
  5. n's
  6. n't
  7. N'Yawk
  8. n****r
  9. n****rs
  10. n*nce
  11. N*zi

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: n't (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “n't.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/n%27t. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.