none

¹ American  

[nuhn] / nʌn /

pronoun

1. not one.

   None of the members is going.

2. not any, as of something indicated.

   None of the pie is left. That is none of your business.

3. no part; nothing.

   I'll have none of your backtalk!

4. (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

1. to no extent; in no way; not at all.

   The supply is none too great.

adjective

1. Archaic. not any; no (usually used only before a vowel orh ).

   Thou shalt have none other gods but me.

none ² American  

[nohn] / noʊn /

noun

1. nones.

---

none ¹ British  

/ nʌn /

pronoun

1. not any of a particular class

   none of my letters has arrived

2. no-one; nobody

   there was none to tell the tale

3. no part (of a whole); not any (of)

   none of it looks edible

4. no other person

   none other than the Queen herself

5. (foll by a comparative adjective) in no degree

   she was none the worse for her ordeal

6. not very

   he was none too pleased with his car

---

none ² British  

/ nəʊn /

noun

1. another word for nones

---

none Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing none

• all (none) of the above
• bar none
• not have it (have none of)
• second to none

---

Grammar

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.

Usage

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

Etymology

Origin of none¹

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

Origin of none²

1175–1225; Middle English; Old English nōn < Latin nōna ( hōra ) ninth (hour). See noon

Explanation

Use the word none to mean "nothing," "not any," or "no one." If you ate the last donut and your dad asks how many are left, it's up to you to break the sad news that there are none. None comes from the Old English nan, "not one," from ne, "not" and an, "one." This word is extremely useful. You can use it to mean "zero," like when you had five apples and ate them all, and now you've got none. Or use it for "no one," like when none of your friends showed up on time for your birthday party. If you had doubts about how to use this word, now you'll have none!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

none

While none of them agreed to invest £60,000, all agreed he needed advice to help grow the business and suggested he could make far more money than he currently did.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Sanft questioned Ladd about the Excalibur letter, and the retired detective conceded he did not have the items and none of them referenced Davis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The research found six candidates, but none worked on RAS, so Verdine proposed designing a synthetic glue instead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

But none of those improvements will stop conspiracy theories.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

But now I can’t tell if it means anything at all or if I’m just so desperate for meaning that I’m inventing it where there is none.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• no one
• nobody
• nothing