The meaning of NOT is —used as a function word to make negative a group of words or a word. How to use not in a sentence.

Not is one of the most common words we use to indicate negation. It is often shortened to n’t and joined to an auxiliary verb or modal verb: … Not in negative statements (She hasn’t …, I did …

NOT definition: (used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition). See examples of not used in a sentence.

Dec 14, 2025 · In this case not cannot appear after the verb; some authorities recommend placing it before to to avoid a split infinitive, but for most speakers the forms not to do and to not do …

In conversation, when not is used after be, have, do, or a modal, it is not usually pronounced in full. When you write down what someone says, you usually represent not as n't and add it to …

You use not, usually in the form n't, in questions which imply that someone should have done something, or to express surprise that something is not the case. Why didn't you do it months …

(used with verbs like[be, have,]and[do,]and with modal verbs, to express the opposite of the main verb, and also to express denial, refusal, prohibiting, etc.: I do not remember the answer. You …

Dec 31, 2025 · "Not" makes a phrase have the opposite meaning. I was not there. I am not fat! The item before "not" is more correct or better than the item after "not". I wanted tea, not …

Not is a powerful word. When Hamlet says "to be or not to be," he is questioning whether he should live or die, the inverse of living. Just be careful of what's called a "double negative," …

Not, the general declarative form of "no", indicating a negation of a related statement that usually precedes ... Not!, a grammatical construction used as a contradiction, popularized in the early …