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. see 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. ); cf. 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

“In 25 games, we’ve never had players with cramps — today we had three. It was a very intense, emotional state. It shows that the setting weighed on them a little. Not on everyone.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Freedom-loving pilots were told ADS-B would never be used that way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

The use of dynamic pricing, adjusting prices higher and higher in respect of rising demand, has been seen in music concert tickets, and some sports events, but never on this scale.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

What’s more, the projection had several other teams that have never before won the tournament advancing to the quarterfinals, including Portugal and Belgium.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

She taught me for years and never asked for a dime.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold