not that

idiom

used to say that something said before is not important
I tried to help, not that it mattered.
I saw him with some other woman, not that I care.

Examples of not that in a Sentence

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His former manager at Leicester, Brendan Rodgers, is now coaching in Saudi Arabia — not that the lad sharpened by a steely upbringing near Sheffield is an obvious fit to finish his career too far from home. Andy Mitten, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026 Kristi Noem is not that person. Arkansas Online, 27 Jan. 2026 At the start of the twentieth century, only nine castrati remained in the Papal Chapel, and a 1903 decree by Pius X banned new recruits, not that many would have been forthcoming. Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 And there’s just not that many people in the world that can do that. Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 27 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for not that

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Cite this Entry

“Not that.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not%20that. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

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