never

American  

[nev-er] / ˈnɛv ər /

adverb

1. not ever; at no time.

   Such an idea never occurred to me.

2. not at all; absolutely not.

   never mind;

   This will never do.

3. to no extent or degree.

   He was never the wiser for his experience.

---

idioms

1. never cease to amaze. never cease to amaze.

2. never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself.

never British  

/ ˈnɛvə /

adverb

1. at no time; not ever

2. certainly not; by no means; in no case

---

interjection

1. Also: well I never!.  surely not!

never More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing never

• better late than never
• it never rains but it pours
• lightning never strikes twice
• now or never
• watched pot never boils
• wonders will never cease
• you never can tell

---

Usage

In informal speech and writing, never can be used instead of not with the simple past tenses of certain verbs for emphasis ( I never said that; I never realized how clever he was ), but this usage should be avoided in serious writing

Etymology

Origin of never

First recorded before 900; from Middle English, from Old English nǣfre, equivalent to ne “not” + ǣfre ever ( def. ); neither ( def. ), nought ( def. )

Explanation

The adverb never means "at no time," or "not at all." If you're never going to win a Monopoly game against your brother, you won't beat him next week, next year, or when you're both 80 years old. Something that never happens didn't occur in the past and won't ever occur in the future, either. Never is a blunt, absolute kind of word. If you wonder whether your dad will let you drive his BMW some day, and he responds, "That's never going to happen," you can forget about it. The Old English root is næfre, a compound of ne, "not or no," and æfre, "ever."

Example Sentences

But it has offered many teams the chance to do something they had never done before - win a major European trophy.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Those whose children are on multiyear waiting lists for the next available opening may end up moving away, or never arriving in the first place.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

He’s just so calm and so good you’re like, “Damn, I’ve never been this smooth.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Allbirds, which never achieved profitability, saw its stock decline 99.6% from its debut before the recent 582% rise.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

I scan the area, so sure I’m going to see Calvin, and somehow equally sure he was never here.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith