cannot
nounEtymology From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.
1
Something that cannot be done.
- the cans and cannots
2
A person who cannot do (something).
cannot
verbUK /ˈkænɒt/ · /ˈkænɑt/
Etymology From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.
1
Can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.).
- I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
- The butler cannot be the murderer, he cannot have killed her, because he was in another city at the time.
2
Be forbidden or not permitted to.
- The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the reſt.1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575
- The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:
2 more examples
- “If China seeks to disrupt the global order, then China cannot continue to be party to international organizations that seek to preserve that order,” Republican Representative Frank Lucas, the House bill’s sponsor, posted on X.2026 February 11, Laura Davidson, quoting Frank Lucas, “US House Votes to Restrict China’s Global Ties If Taiwan Threatened”, in Bloomberg Times, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2026:
- You cannot enter the hall without a ticket.
- Synonyms
- can't