Dictionary.com

none

1
[ nuhn ]
/ nʌn /
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See synonyms for: none / noner / nonest on Thesaurus.com

pronoun
not one: None of the members is going.
not any, as of something indicated: None of the pie is left. That is none of your business.
no part; nothing: I'll have none of your backtalk!
(used with a plural verb) no or not any persons or things: I left three pies on the table and now there are none. None were left when I came.
adverb
to no extent; in no way; not at all: The supply is none too great.
adjective
Archaic. not any; no (usually used only before a vowel or h): Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
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Origin of none

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English non, Old English nān, equivalent to ne “not” + ān “one”; see one

grammar notes for none

Since none has the meanings “not one” and “not any,” some insist that it always be treated as a singular and be followed by a singular verb: The rescue party searched for survivors, but none was found. However, none has been used with both singular and plural verbs since the 9th century. When the sense is “not any persons or things” (as in the example above), the plural is more common: … none were found. Only when none is clearly intended to mean “not one” or “not any” is it followed by a singular verb: Of all my articles, none has received more acclaim than my latest one.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH none

nobody, no one, none

Other definitions for none (2 of 2)

none2
[ nohn ]
/ noʊn /

noun

Origin of none

2
1175–1225; Middle English; Old English nōn<Latin nōna (hōra) ninth (hour). See noon
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use none in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for none (1 of 2)

none1
/ (nʌn) /

pronoun
not any of a particular classnone of my letters has arrived
no-one; nobodythere was none to tell the tale
no part (of a whole); not any (of)none of it looks edible
none other no other personnone other than the Queen herself
none the (foll by a comparative adjective) in no degreeshe was none the worse for her ordeal
none too not veryhe was none too pleased with his car

Word Origin for none

Old English nān, literally: not one

usage for none

None is a singular pronoun and should be used with a singular form of a verb: none of the students has (not have) a car

British Dictionary definitions for none (2 of 2)

none2
/ (nəʊn) /

noun
another word for nones
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with none

none

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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