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• wont
  wont

  adjective

  accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive).
• won't
  won't

  contraction of will not:

wont

¹ American  

[wawnt, wohnt, wuhnt] / wɔnt, woʊnt, wʌnt /

adjective

1. accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive).

   He was wont to rise at dawn.

   Synonyms:

   wonted

   Antonyms:

   unaccustomed

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noun

• wonts
  plural

1. custom; habit; practice.

   It was her wont to walk three miles before breakfast.

   Synonyms:

   use

verb (used with object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to accustom (a person), as to a thing.

   That summer wonted me to a lifetime of early rising.

2. to render (a thing) customary or usual (usually used passively).

verb (used without object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to be wont.

won't ² American  

[wohnt, wuhnt] / woʊnt, wʌnt /

1. contraction of will not:

   He won't see you now.

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wont ¹ British  

/ wəʊnt /

adjective

1. (postpositive) accustomed (to doing something)

   he was wont to come early

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noun

1. a manner or action habitually employed by or associated with someone (often in the phrases as is my wont, as is his wont, etc)

verb

1. (when tr, usually passive) to become or cause to become accustomed

won't ² British  

/ wəʊnt /

contraction

1. will not

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Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wontless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wonts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wont

irst recorded in 1300–50; (adjective) Middle English wont, woned, Old English gewunod, past participle of gewunian “to be used to” ( see won ²); cognate with German gewöhnt; (verb) Middle English, back formation from wonted or wont (past participle); (noun) apparently from conflation of wont (past participle) with obsolete wone “wish” in certain stereotyped phrases

Explanation

A wont is a custom or habit, like my wont to drink at least ten cups of coffee a day. (In this particular example, some people might call my wont an addiction.) Wont is a tricky word, in terms of pronunciation; some people argue it sounds like want, while others insist it's pronounced like won't. Perhaps the confusion over pronunciation explains why this word is used relatively infrequently in everyday speech. It's most people's wont to use a synonym like custom or habit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wont won't wonts wonted wonting

In addition, we are rolling up the two SPY bull spreads where the long call was deeply in the money, as is our wont.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

“The market can do anything,” Richard Russell, the author of the Dow Theory Letters, was wont to remind his readers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Liverpool, as is their wont this season, were not to be denied.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025

But Watkins, as she’s been wont to do, kept pushing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2025

"As the Starks are wont to remind us, winter is coming. Have it done."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

But it's different again for those following the astronomical calendar who say we won't officially be in autumn until 23 September.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

“For the young vines we had to do it because they won’t survive the whole summer,” Perrin said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Hiring slows again — and it probably won’t speed up soon.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 30, 2026

He won’t be the only Little Red Feather horse at Keeneland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

And then to the friars: "You wicked wizards, you won't be able to kidnap that lovely princess and her lovely ladies in waiting!"

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

So wonts the world to pamper those that nought deserve, Whiles such as merit best, without relief do starve.

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 8 by William Carew Hazlitt

Nothing wonts me to a new place more than the birds.

From Birds and Poets : with Other Papers by John Burroughs

“In woods, in waves, in wars, she wonts to dwell And will be found with peril and with pain.”

From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Isaac Disraeli

But I am more lonely than ever Rhistaun wonts of, for this I tell thee, when I hear the gods I know not what They say.

From Time and the Gods by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron Dunsany

Men with essential wonts and laudable aspirations, the attainment of which can be accelerated by the fostering love and enlightened zeal of a progressive government.

From Shadow and Light An Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century by Booker T. Washington

Bitter-leaning amaro, full of restorative herbs, is a wonted — and excellent — choice.

From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2021

Not only does the moment underline the fascination of Lecter, but it also subverts classical music’s wonted role as signifier of the good.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2017

She often seems daunted In the face of the wonted, But her manners are ruly and her hats are set wry.

From Time Magazine Archive

I am prepared to sacrifice all ideas of rest and recreation to help the business regain its wonted position.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was no position in reference to matter or objects; not the recognition of surfaces; the senses themselves collapsed and abrogated their wonted distinctions; and the body was left aware but bereft.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Wont, wont or wonted, wonting, wont or wonted.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

By wonting thyself every moment to independence in judgment, joined together with serenity of thought and simplicity in act and bearing.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 3 by Hamilton Wright Mabie