don't-know

[ dohnt-noh ]

noun
  1. a person who has no opinion or is undecided, as in answering an item on a public-opinion poll.

Origin of don't-know

1
First recorded in 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use don't-know in a sentence

  • Such I-don't-know-you behavior is the hallmark of a manager who feels vulnerable in his or her own position—or is just a jerk.

    An Employee Bill of Rights | Jack And Suzy Welch | March 4, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • D-d-don't know how m-m-many more might be around on the other s-s-side of the house.

    Chums of the Camp Fire | Lawrence J. Leslie
  • The other half of the time he either behaves like I-don't-know-what or talks about children growing whiskers in Iowa!

    Seventeen | Booth Tarkington
  • He had picked up the card again and was ordering some infernal broth made of mussels and I-don't-know-what.

    Foe-Farrell | Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • "L-l-lucky for us they d-d-don't know h-h-how," said Toby, vigorously.

    Afloat on the Flood | Lawrence J. Leslie
  • "D-d-don't know," replied the Major, with a Jack Rogers' shrug of the shoulders.

    Ask Momma | R. S. Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for don't know

don't know

noun
  1. a person who has not reached a definite opinion on a subject, esp as a response to a questionnaire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012