• No

    Pronunciation

    • UK
    • US
    • Rhymes: -əʊ
    • Homophones: know

    Origin 1

    From Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan ("none, not any") used before consonants (compare a to an), from Old English nān ("none, not any"), from ne ("not") + ān ("one"), equivalent to ne("not") + a. Compare Old Saxon nigēn ("not any") (Low German nen), Dutch geen, Old High German nihein (German kein). More at no, one.

    Full definition of no

    Determiner

    File:Blanco landscape.svg|thumb|No (not any)
    1. Not any.no oneThere is no water left.No hot dogs were sold yesterday.No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.
    2. Not any possibility or allowance of (doing something).No smokingThere's no stopping her once she gets going.
    3. Not (a); not properly, not really; not fully.My mother's no fool.Working nine to five every day is no life.

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from no (determiner)

    Origin 2

    From Middle English no, na, from Old English nā, nō ("never"), from Proto-Germanic *nai ("never"), *nē ("not"), from Proto-Indo-European *ne, *nē, *nēy, equivalent to Old English ne ("not") + ā, ō ("ever, always"). Cognate with West Frisian né ("no"), West Frisian nea ("never"), Dutch nee ("no"), Low German nee ("no"), German nie ("never"), Icelandic nei ("no"). More at nay.

    Adverb

    no

    1. (largely obsolete except in Scotland) Not.I just want to find out whether she's coming or no.
    2. (used with comparatives) Not any, not at all.

    Particle

    1. Used to show disagreement or negation.No, you are mistaken.No, you may not watch television now.
    2. Used to show agreement with a negative question."Don’t you like milk?" "No" (i.e., "No, I don’t like milk.")

    Synonyms

    Noun

    no

    (plural noes)
    1. A negating expression; an answer that shows disagreement or disapproval.
    2. A vote not in favor, or opposing a proposition.The workers voted on whether to strike, and there were thirty "yeses" and one "no".

    Synonyms

    Anagrams

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