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

“That should only take a minute and he’s on his way. We don’t need to pretend we give a shit about each other.”

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

"I don't think I'm a hero. I think that I was just a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish way."

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The contributions don’t have to be huge, but every little bit counts.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

You don’t need me to tell you that the money top voices get for talking about football—the thing you do every weekend, for free, on the couch, to the baffled dog—is absurd.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.”

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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