• Not

    Pronunciation

    • UK
      • IPA: /nÉ’t/
    • US
      • IPA: /nÉ‘t/
    • Rhymes: -É’t
    • Homophones: knot, naught some dialects

    Origin

    From Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht ("not, nothing"), from Old English *nōht, nāht ("nought, nothing"), short for nōwiht, nāwiht ("nothing", literally no thing, no creature), corresponding to nā ("no") + wiht ("thing, creature"). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht ("not"), Saterland Frisian nit ("not"), West Frisian net ("not"), Dutch niet ("not"), German nicht ("not"). Compare nought and aught. More at no, wight.

    Full definition of not

    Adverb

    not

    1. Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
      • 1973, .Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
    2. Did you take out the trash? No, I did not.Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
    3. To no degreeThat is not red; it's orange.

    Usage notes

    In modern usage, the form do not ... (or don’t ...) is preferred to ... not for all but a short list of verbs (is/am/are/was/were, have/has/had, "do/does/did, " when do is the main verb, it too requires do not...

    can/could, shall/should, will/would, may/might, need):

    They do not sow. (modern) vs. They sow not. (KJB)

    American usage tends to prefer don’t have or haven’t got to have not or haven’t, except when have is used as an auxiliary (or in the idiom have-not):

    I don’t have a clue or I haven’t got a clue. (US)

    I haven’t a clue or I haven't got a clue. (outside US)

    I haven’t been to Spain. (universal)

    The verb need is only directly negated when used as an auxiliary, and even this usage is rare in the US.

    You don’t need to trouble yourself. (US)

    You needn’t trouble yourself. (outside US)

    I don’t need any eggs today. (universal)

    The verb dare can sometimes be directly negated.

    I daren't do that.

    Conjunction

    1. And not.I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.

    Usage notes

    The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.

    Interjection

    not!
    1. (slang, 1990s) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney... not!Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not!

    Noun

    not

    (plural nots)
    1. Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function.You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip.

    Related terms

    Anagrams

    © Wiktionary