shan't
/ʃɑːnt/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Scotland/ʃant/
shan't is the contraction of shall.
Meaning of shall
Verb
shall (third-person singular simple present shall, no present participle, simple past should, no past participle)
- Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.
- I shall sing in the choir tomorrow.
- Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.
- (determination): You shall go to the ball!; He shall be given a fair trial.
- Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.
- What shall I do? Shall I give you a hand?
- To owe.
- I thee shall a hundred golden coins; th'amount thou shalt the Queen is much higher.
Forms of shan't
| alternative form | shalln't |
|---|---|
| alternative form | sha'n't |
Origin of shan't
From shall + -n't; contraction of shalln't or shall not, historically via shannot.
Words that rhyme with shan't
18 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about shan't
- What is shan't the contraction of?
- Shan't is the contraction of shall.
- How do you pronounce shan't?
- Shan't is pronounced /ʃɑːnt/ (UK).
Words near shan't in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shan't (page history and authors); shall (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-shan't.wav, En-us-shan't.oga.
Cite this entry: “shan't.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shan%27t. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
