not
adverb
\
Definition of not
(Entry 1 of 2)
NOT
noun
\
Definition of NOT (Entry 2 of 2)
Examples of not in a Sentence
Adverb
He was standing not six feet away from me. The bullet passed not five inches from my head!Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
Locals sign up for the event, but don't be surprised if celebrities make an appearance. — Jessica Hice, Indianapolis Star, "11 free things to do at the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration," 6 July 2017 Can't wait to see this come to life on the big screen. — Sarah Wu, Teen Vogue, "Shailene Woodley's Adrift SFX Makeup," 6 July 2017 Exercise isn’t boring with these four innovative (and wacky) fitness routines. — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, "4 Weird Ways to Work Out," 6 July 2017 Veil survived the Holocaust, but her mother, father and brother did not. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "France’s Simone Veil Will Become the Fifth Woman Buried in the Panthéon," 6 July 2017 And the bloodbath won’t end soon: this winter, a report by Moody’s Investors Service found that debt maturities were on their way to record levels in the next five years. — Phil Wahba, PEOPLE.com, "True Religion Brand Jeans Files for Bankruptcy," 6 July 2017 The June coaching change didn't sacrifice a good recruiting class. — Bill Landis, cleveland.com, "The cost of Ohio State basketball's untimely coaching change? A great Ohio recruiting class," 6 July 2017 Still, as Deadline noted on Friday, True Detective has not received the formal green light for a third season. — Esquire Editors, Esquire, "Mahershala Ali Is Reportedly in Talks to Star in True Detective Season 3," 6 July 2017 Their joint celebration on the Fourth isn't Affleck and Garner's first reunion since filing for divorce. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Spend July 4th Together," 5 July 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'not.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about not
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
The Double Negative: It's Not Unusual...
The Double Negative: It's Not Unusual (Sometimes)
It's not the worst rule to break.
Statistics for not
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for not
The first known use of not was in the 13th century
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for not
not
adverb
English Language Learners Definition of not
—used to form the negative of modal verbs (such as “should” and “could”) and auxiliary verbs (such as “do” and “have”)
—used with a negative word to make a positive statement
—used humorously at the end of a positive statement to show that you really meant the opposite
See the full definition for not in the English Language Learners Dictionary
not
adverb
\
Kids Definition of not
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on not
What made you want to look up not? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Homophone Quiz
-
- In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a
______.
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Homophone Quiz
More/moor than/then two/too/to.
Take the quiz -
Liar, Liar Quiz
Test your knowledge of words for lies, liars, and those being lied to. In other words, everyone.
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
Take the quiz -
Add Diction
Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.
Play the game
Share not
Resources for not