no
adverb
(a negative used to express dissent, denial, or refusal, as in response to a question or request).
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no
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No
NonounLake, a lake in the Sudd region of S central Sudan, formed by the floodwaters of the White Nile. About 40 sq. mi. (100 sq. km).
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Nō
Nōnounclassic drama of Japan, developed chiefly in the 14th century, employing verse, prose, choral song, and dance in highly conventionalized formal and thematic patterns derived from religious sources and folk myths.
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no.
no.abbreviationnorth.
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N/O
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No.
No.abbreviationnorth(ern)
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n.o.
n.o.abbreviationnot out
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no'
no'adverbnot
no
1 American
[noh]
/ noʊ /
adverb
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(a negative used to express dissent, denial, or refusal, as in response to a question or request).
“Have you done the dishes yet?” “No, not yet.”
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(used to emphasize or introduce a negative statement).
Not a single person came to the party, no, not a one.
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not in any degree or manner; not at all (used with a comparative).
He is no better.
interjection
adjective
noun
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noes,
plural
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nos
plural
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an utterance of the word “no.”
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a denial or refusal.
He responded with a definite no.
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a negative vote or voter.
The noes have it.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
idioms
no
2
American
[noh]
/ noʊ /
adjective
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not any.
no money.
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not at all; far from being.
He is no genius.
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very little; negligible.
We got her to the hospital in no time.
No
3
American
[noh]
/ noʊ /
noun
No
4
American
Symbol, Chemistry.
Nō
5
American
[noh]
/ noʊ /
Or
No,
noun
no.
6
American
Or
No.
abbreviation
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north.
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northern.
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number.
N/O
7
American
abbreviation
Banking.
no
1
British
/ nəʊ /
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used to express denial, disagreement, refusal, disapproval, disbelief, or acknowledgment of negative statements
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used with question intonation to query a previous negative statement, as in disbelief
Alfred isn't dead yet. No?
noun
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an answer or vote of no
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(often plural) a person who votes in the negative
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there is a majority of votes in the negative
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to continue in a course of action despite refusals
no
2
British
/ nəʊ /
determiner
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not any, not a, or not one
there's no money left
no card in the file
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not by a long way; not at all
she's no youngster
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(followed by comparative adjectives and adverbs) not
no fewer than forty men
no more quickly than before
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See go 1
No.
3
British
abbreviation
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north(ern)
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Also: no. number
No
4
British
/ nəʊ /
noun
No
5
British
/ nəʊ /
noun
No
6
British
symbol
no
7
British
abbreviation
n.o.
8
British
abbreviation
no'
9
British
/ no, nəʊ /
adverb
no
More Idioms
Usage
Plural word for no The plural form of no can be either nos or noes. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -o are also formed this way, as in mango/mangos/mangoes and mosquito/mosquitos/mosquitoes. In some instances, particularly in advertising and other public communications, the plural form of no is written with an apostrophe, as in no's. This is not considered standard, but it may be easier to understand in some contexts, because nos. (with a period at the end) is also used as an abbreviation for numbers and because many people are unfamiliar with the plural form of no. The word no is only pluralized when it is used as a noun rather than in its more common use as an adverb. The word no as a noun means "an answer or vote of no" or "a person who votes in the negative," as in The noes outnumbered the yeses.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of no1
First recorded before 900; Middle English no, na, Old English nā, from n(e) “not” + ā ay 1
Origin of no2
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; variant of none 1
Origin of Nō5
1870–75; < Japanese, earlier noũ < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese néng ability
Explanation
No is the ultimate negative: it means "not any," or "not at all," and it's also used to express a generally negative response. If there's no milk for your cereal in the morning, there's not a drop left. A sign in a school hallway that says "No running" means that it's absolutely not allowed. And, the response, "No, thanks" when you offer your friend half of your liverwurst sandwich means that she is really not interested. You might vote no on a special ballot question about extending school to Saturdays or exclaim, "Oh no!" to express disappointment when your team loses a big game. No comes from the Old English negative, na.
Vocabulary lists containing no
Scrabble: Two-Letter Words
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 3
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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:
However, with no significant rain in sight across England and Wales, the current drought conditions with hosepipe bans will show now sign of easing.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
As he stared at the black stone that AlphaGo dropped on the board, Sedol saw a move that no professional Go player would have made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The company also began pitching a free service to restaurants earlier this year that would pool reservations across platforms, so that restaurant staff no longer had to toggle among apps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Eimbcke says he has no secret technique to obtain wonderful performances from his teen stars; the only strategy that works is to lean into fun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
No one in Cavendish in 1848, no scientist in America or Europe, has the slightest notion that bacteria cause infection.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
No ballet anthology film was ever produced by a major American studio again, and today it is available only on DVD.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
No arrests were made at the time and the investigation was closed pending any new lines of inquiry.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
No matter which internet service provider you choose, it’s important to read between the lines of the marketing language and promotional rates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
No detectable adverse effects were found in the treated mice during that period.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
No one is wearing surgical gloves, masks, or booties.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
I have a rural note of one of my visits to the Nō.
From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by Scott, J.W. Robertson
“You start to think it can’t get any worse. But no. They show their true colors every single time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
“No, no, no. Good lord, no,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
“No, no. He wants to explain it to you in person.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
"Part of me did think that there might have been a touch of Mediterranean in my blood, but no. Wales is through my blood."
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
“Oh dear. Oh no. You’re not supposed to be here.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Announcement No. 10 was not among them; it has run without interruption since February 2025 and has no end date.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
His chances of making Carolina’s 53-man roster improved greatly last month when veteran backup quarterback Will Grier announced his retirement, which bumped King up to No. 3 on the depth chart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
As the No. 1, you’re writing and your directing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The book debuted this January at No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list, and Netflix acquired the rights for a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
No. He explained that the molasses went to a factory where it was boiled down into something called industrial alcohol.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
That was a “complete lie,” he told the press: “I have been a ‘heck no’ the whole time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
‘No no no no no’, he shouted, as if he was talking to someone.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024
And I was like, ‘No, no, no’ for like two straight weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2024
“I went ‘oh no’ and then I just went into shock, there’s no other way to say it,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
“Mebbe she’s no’ de same trail?” pondered the guide aloud.
From A Scout of To-day by Hornibrook, Isabel
On this occasion, there are more emphatic "noes" than groans, and Ms Harris accepts defeat this time around.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
An August referendum on restarting the reactor, held just three months after it closed, failed to attract a quorum, though the yes votes outweighed the noes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
A chorus of noes echoed through the Boyle Heights storefront offices of Women’s March Action.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2022
Rather than simply tallying up the yeses and the noes, agencies are supposed to examine comments for substantive feedback on their proposals.
From Slate ● Jun. 21, 2021
My job was to stand there, shake hands, and throw out yeses and noes as needed.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
As the beats of "nos óra dja txiga" played through the fan zone, supporters chanted along in excitement – some waving the national flag.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Marks owns stock in RyCarma Therapeutics Inc., which is developing compounds that target the ryanodine receptor, and is a coinventor on U.S. patent nos.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 14, 2026
“I was watching my bank account go down and down and down and the nos go up and up and up. I was terrified,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
“Over time, the nos got fewer and fewer.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
Hesitations're yeses or nos if the questioner already knows the answer.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
