have-not

noun

ˈhav-ˌnät How to pronounce have-not (audio)
-ˈnät
: one that is poor especially in material wealth

Examples of have-not in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The toll of the pandemic and climate change keep exposing, in ways big and small, the grim inequities between the world’s haves and have-nots. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023 Then came the dissolution of the Southwest Conference, casting the league’s have-nots to the wind. Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023 This might ruffle some fan feathers, but Palmera City does a good job of showing the division between the haves and have-nots. Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2023 The explosion of tourism over the years, however, has strained natural resources and astronomically driven up the cost of living – dividing the haves and have-nots in ways that felt untenable even before the fire’s devastation. Catherine Thorbecke, CNN, 15 Aug. 2023 At that point, there will be more have-nots than haves in major college football. Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 14 Aug. 2023 While the topic was the dress code at a fine dining restaurant in Akron, comments from around the world reflected a social divide between liberals and conservatives, haves and have-nots, and angry folks with a gripe to air. Paris Wolfe, cleveland, 29 July 2023 Sternlicht argued this is evidence the office sector will be split into haves and have-nots in the coming years—and many have-nots may go out of business. Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 21 July 2023 But behind their prosperity is a workforce divided into haves and have-nots, based on their employment status. Naomi Nix, Washington Post, 5 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'have-not.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of have-not was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near have-not

Cite this Entry

“Have-not.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/have-not. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

have-not

noun
ˈhav-ˌnät,
-ˈnät
: one that is poor in material wealth

More from Merriam-Webster on have-not

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!