Synonyms

don't

American

[dohnt] / doʊnt /

verb

contraction of do not.
Nonstandard except in some dialects. contraction of does not.

noun

don'ts, customs, rules, or regulations that forbid something.

The boss has a long list of don'ts that you had better observe if you want a promotion.

don't British

/ dəʊnt /

contraction

do not

"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

Etymology

Origin of don't

First recorded in 1600–10

Compare meaning

How does dont compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

don't vs. doesn't

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

don't

"We shouldn't conclude that children have been psychologically damaged and harmed simply because they don't hear those words," she tells the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Steven said he was shocked: “I don’t honestly remember exactly what she said.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

"But don't throw out a tool that is valuable, that can help recover a missing child."

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

They don’t agree on who should manage the multibillion-dollar family real-estate business, or how they should do it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

She rallies the other patients and tells them that they don’t deserve to be treated this way.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023