no-no
Americannoun
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no-nos,
plural
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no-no's
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of no-no
1940–45, reduplication of no 1
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:
This is generally considered a big no-no in the financial-planning world.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Putting EU money behind nuclear projects was long a no-no, with the 27-nation bloc focusing on renewables in the race to cut planet warming emissions.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, a trade deadline acquisition, throw insults in the face-off circle and make not-so-accidental contact with rival goalies—a serious no-no in hockey’s unwritten code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2025
“Using AI to help prepare for interview questions is fine, but reading off a screen with interview responses is a total breach of trust and a big no-no for me,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
Her brightly stained lips tightened and she twitched her head in a no-no rebuke.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
He lost his bid for consecutive no-no’s on the fifth pitch of the game when Haniger homered into the second deck of left field.
From Washington Times ● May 13, 2019
There is also a list of no-no’s in terms of foods with “side effects”: Be easy on the garlic and omit raw onions altogether, not to mention beans.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2018
They’re still mentioning car leases — one of Suze’s biggest no-no’s.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2015
The same sighing-and-hand-wringing routine applies to all of the supposed pregnancy no-no’s: wine, sushi, hot baths, intense exercise, flying, scooping cat litter.
From Time ● Dec. 2, 2014
‘Hey, I don’t know. Some Cherokee taboos were permanent no-no’s, like killing eagles.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
“Natural light is the best. I can’t do a dark house. The no-no of no-nos is bad floor plan and flow, and not enough natural light.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 24, 2025
With that in mind, it might not be surprising that "Saturday Night Live" gave the button-pushing comedian a list of "no-nos" during his recent appearance on the long-running series.
From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2025
Among the social no-nos: Surreptitiously recording others and reading on the device while seeming to ignore others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
But right now, Mr. Chang said, student staff members like him seem to be the ones catching and correcting the pandemic no-nos: “Who else is there?”
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2020
The few Excel sheets in question, during one recent encounter, turned out to have 400 columns each, replete with mismatched terms and other coding no-nos, said Mr. Althouse, who works at the University of Pittsburgh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2018
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.
