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.

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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

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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

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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. )

Example Sentences

On her phone she shows a picture of Kira, sent to her by her mother -- a little baby she never had time to get to know.

From Barron's

"When we started talking to parents we never said that we were introducing football to stop child marriage," says Joshi.

From BBC

Franks says she will never regret her time at Cambridge, despite the sneers and the cheeseboard faux pas.

From BBC

Newcastle had never managed a win in 20 previous visits to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, also losing there in the League Cup semi-finals this season.

From Barron's

Giving them more control over how they use a product is never a bad thing, Kanlian said.

From The Wall Street Journal