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 nÄn ("none, not any"), from ne ("not") + Än ("one"), equivalent to ne("not") + a. Compare Old Saxon nigÄ“n ("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)- 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.
- Not any possibility or allowance of (doing something).No smokingThere's no stopping her once she gets going.
- Not (a); not properly, not really; not fully.My mother's no fool.Working nine to five every day is no life.
Derived terms
Origin 2
From Middle English no, na, from Old English nÄ, nÅ ("never"), from Proto-Germanic *nai ("never"), *nÄ“ ("not"), from Proto-Indo-European *ne, *nÄ“, *nÄ“y, equivalent to Old English ne ("not") + Ä, Å ("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
- (largely obsolete except in Scotland) Not.I just want to find out whether she's coming or no.
- (used with comparatives) Not any, not at all.
Particle
- Used to show disagreement or negation.No, you are mistaken.No, you may not watch television now.
- Used to show agreement with a negative question."Don’t you like milk?" "No" (i.e., "No, I don’t like milk.")
Noun
no
(plural noes)- A negating expression; an answer that shows disagreement or disapproval.
- A vote not in favor, or opposing a proposition.The workers voted on whether to strike, and there were thirty "yeses" and one "no".