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• wont
  wont

  adjective

  accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive).
• won't
  won't

  contraction of will not:

wont

¹ American  

[wawnt, wohnt, wuhnt] / wɔnt, woʊnt, wʌnt /

adjective

1. accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive).

   He was wont to rise at dawn.

   Synonyms:

   wonted

   Antonyms:

   unaccustomed

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noun

• wonts
  plural

1. custom; habit; practice.

   It was her wont to walk three miles before breakfast.

   Synonyms:

   use

verb (used with object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to accustom (a person), as to a thing.

   That summer wonted me to a lifetime of early rising.

2. to render (a thing) customary or usual (usually used passively).

verb (used without object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to be wont.

won't ² American  

[wohnt, wuhnt] / woʊnt, wʌnt /

1. contraction of will not:

   He won't see you now.

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wont ¹ British  

/ wəʊnt /

adjective

1. (postpositive) accustomed (to doing something)

   he was wont to come early

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noun

1. a manner or action habitually employed by or associated with someone (often in the phrases as is my wont, as is his wont, etc)

verb

1. (when tr, usually passive) to become or cause to become accustomed

won't ² British  

/ wəʊnt /

contraction

1. will not

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Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wontless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wonts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wont

irst recorded in 1300–50; (adjective) Middle English wont, woned, Old English gewunod, past participle of gewunian “to be used to” ( see won ²); cognate with German gewöhnt; (verb) Middle English, back formation from wonted or wont (past participle); (noun) apparently from conflation of wont (past participle) with obsolete wone “wish” in certain stereotyped phrases

Explanation

A wont is a custom or habit, like my wont to drink at least ten cups of coffee a day. (In this particular example, some people might call my wont an addiction.) Wont is a tricky word, in terms of pronunciation; some people argue it sounds like want, while others insist it's pronounced like won't. Perhaps the confusion over pronunciation explains why this word is used relatively infrequently in everyday speech. It's most people's wont to use a synonym like custom or habit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wont won't wonts wonted wonting

In addition, we are rolling up the two SPY bull spreads where the long call was deeply in the money, as is our wont.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Clarke, as is his wont, has been talking up the threat of Haiti, referring regularly to their size, their power and their athleticism.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Likewise if there are animals up above fertilizing, as they are wont to do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

But Watkins, as she’s been wont to do, kept pushing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2025

“I just want to look at it. Whatever it says, I wont ask for but ten dollars. You can have the rest. I just want to see it.”

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

He won’t have to do that at USC.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

"The problem is that our retinas don't have pain receptors, so you won't know that you're damaging your eyes" Nežič added.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Authorities warn that they won’t call you to threaten arrest or demand money over missed jury duty, yet tricksters convince many.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"The gap is closing, but it won't close overnight."

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

“If I don’t run risks, I won’t find out anything worthwhile,” she says.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Men with essential wonts and laudable aspirations, the attainment of which can be accelerated by the fostering love and enlightened zeal of a progressive government.

From Shadow and Light An Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century by Washington, Booker T.

“In woods, in waves, in wars, she wonts to dwell And will be found with peril and with pain.”

From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac

But I am more lonely than ever Rhistaun wonts of, for this I tell thee, when I hear the gods I know not what They say.

From Time and the Gods by Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron

So wonts the world to pamper those that nought deserve, Whiles such as merit best, without relief do starve.

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 8 by Hazlitt, William Carew

His notions of art are liable to express themselves in pipes, steins, and other masculine bric-a-brac; but whatever his wills and wonts on the furnishing question, his room must show care and attention.

From The Complete Home by Laughlin, Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth)

Bitter-leaning amaro, full of restorative herbs, is a wonted — and excellent — choice.

From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2021

Not only does the moment underline the fascination of Lecter, but it also subverts classical music’s wonted role as signifier of the good.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2017

She often seems daunted In the face of the wonted, But her manners are ruly and her hats are set wry.

From Time Magazine Archive

I am prepared to sacrifice all ideas of rest and recreation to help the business regain its wonted position.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was no position in reference to matter or objects; not the recognition of surfaces; the senses themselves collapsed and abrogated their wonted distinctions; and the body was left aware but bereft.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

By wonting thyself every moment to independence in judgment, joined together with serenity of thought and simplicity in act and bearing.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 3 by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

Wont, wont or wonted, wonting, wont or wonted.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold