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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

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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

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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

Still, some of the most standout moments at Coachella 2026 seemed almost indifferent to that logic, suggesting that — as music is wont to do — a countercurrent may be bubbling up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 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

The event was packed and it went on for many hours as his rallies are wont to do.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2024

Stannis stood behind the rough-hewn table where the Old Bear had once been wont to sit and take his meals.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

And if this relationship-building is done well, when the inheritance inevitably leads to disagreement, at least the people sitting across the table won’t feel like strangers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

If I don’t ever do that, I won’t know, so I need to do it.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

I’ve heard some reporters saying they won’t even bother to learn how to spell her name.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Most Test matches start the same way, very physical, and that won't be changing at all this week for any game.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

I know it’s ridiculous, because first of all, they won’t believe me.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

His notions of art are liable to express themselves in pipes, steins, and other masculine bric-a-brac; but whatever his wills and wonts on the furnishing question, his room must show care and attention.

From The Complete Home by Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth) Laughlin

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

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

I wonts ter read de hymms an' songs.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves, North Carolina Narratives, Part 1 by Various

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

From Birds and Poets : with Other Papers by John Burroughs

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

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

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

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

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