nor

¹

[nawr, ner]

conjunction

1. (used in negative phrases, especially after neither, to introduce the second member in a series, or any subsequent member).

   Neither he nor I will be there. They won't wait for you, nor for me, nor for anybody.

2. (used to continue the force of a negative, as not, no, never, etc., occurring in a preceding clause).

   He left and I never saw him again, nor did I regret it.

3. (used after an affirmative clause, or as a continuative, in the sense ofand not ).

   They are happy, nor need we worry.

4. Older Use.,  than.

5. Archaic.,  (used without a preceding neither, the negative force of which is understood).

   He nor I was there.

6. Archaic.,  (used instead of neither as correlative to a followingnor ).

   Nor he nor I was there.

NOR

²

[nawr]

noun

1. a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when both operands are negative.

nor-

³

1. a combining form used in the names of chemical compounds which are the normal or parent forms of the compound denoted by the base words.

   l-norepinephrine.

nor.

⁴

abbreviation

1. north.

2. northern.

Nor.

⁵

abbreviation

1. Norman.

2. North.

3. Northern.

4. Norway.

5. Norwegian.

nor

¹

/ nə, nɔː /

conjunction

1. (used to join alternatives) and not

   neither measles nor mumps

2. (and) not … either

   they weren't talented — nor were they particularly funny

3. dialect,  than

   better nor me

4. poetic,  neither

   nor wind nor rain

nor-

²

combining form

1. indicating that a chemical compound is derived from a specified compound by removal of a group or groups

   noradrenaline

2. indicating that a chemical compound is a normal isomer of a specified compound

Grammar Note

See neither.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nor¹

1300–50; Middle English, contraction of nother, Old English nōther, equivalent to ne not + ōther (contraction of ōhwæther ) either; or ¹

Origin of nor²

1955–60

Origin of nor³

Short for normal

Word History and Origins

Origin of nor¹

C13: contraction of Old English nōther, from nāhwæther _neither

Origin of nor²

by shortening from _normal

Idioms and Phrases

see hide nor hair; neither fish nor fowl; neither here nor there; rhyme or reason (neither rhyme nor reason).

Example Sentences

“I want to be emphatic: No illegal act will be tolerated in the public forces, nor in the defense sector, not by those retired from the forces, nor by public or private officials,” Sanchez said in a post on X.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nor can a plausible claim be made that such an armed attack is imminent.

Read more on Slate

As a result, neither DOJ’s statement, nor the still-unavailable OLC opinion, nor the say-so of the president, the attorney general, or the secretary of defense is the last word.

Read more on Slate

But the extent and strength of that response isn’t spelled out, nor is the nature of the U.S.’s role.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nor has he explained why he now thinks that they are not aligned with the vision of the club.

Read more on BBC