Etymology From Middle English not, nat, a variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), shortening of nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht, corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
1
Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?
Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
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It was felt desirable that she not leave school before fourteen.
I'd rather MoM (did) not stay, cuz the best thing about a holiday is not working.
Not a day passes when I don't regret not having enrolled in medicine.
People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.1973 November 17, Richard Milhous Nixon, Orlando press conference
2
To no degree.
That is not red; it's green.
It's not you, it's me.
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Expectation: Everybody in the family has to love everybody else. Reaction: Not the ghost of Christmas past, present, or future could pull this one off unless feeling is already there.1984 December 22, John Stout, “Home for the Holidays: Survival Strategies for Gays”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 23, page 5:
3
Used to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.
That day was not the best day of my life. (meaning the day was bad or awful)
It was not my favorite movie of all time. (meaning the speaker dislikes or strongly dislikes the movie)
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In the not too distant future my view on the matter might be not a million miles away from yours.
I wonder if I shouldn't see a doctor - I've been feeling funny the last few days.
4
Used before a determiner phrase, a pronominal phrase etc. to convey a negative attitude (e.g. denial, sadness, anger) towards something.
Oh god, not that! Anything but that!
Not another rainy day!
5
Informal, Ironic Used before a non-finite clause (especially a gerund-participial clause) or less commonly a determiner phrase to ironically convey some attitude (e.g. surprise, incredulity, amusement, embarrassment) towards something.
Not me writing example sentences again.
Not me crying by the end of that!! You are a brilliant, beautiful human who deserves no less than the world. Thank you for taking the time to watch unicorn store. It’s a film that means so much to me.2023 July 8, @brielarson [Brie Larson], Twitter:
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[Keke] Palmer tells Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to “mind y'all's business” when they ask about her relationship with [Darius] Jackson. ¶ “Not y’all trying to get into it! They trying it on the Today show,” Palmer joked when the subject was first brought up on Today With Hoda & Jenna.2023 December 9, “Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson: A Complete Relationship Timeline”, in Glamour:
Etymology From Middle English not, nat, a variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), shortening of nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht, corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
1
And not.
I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
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We can't run this bar without her. Not and raise two kids.
not
intj
Etymology From Middle English not, nat, a variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), shortening of nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht, corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
1
Slang Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.
Near-synonyms: I don't think; psych; bender (obsolete, UK)
I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney … not!
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Sure, you’re perfect the way you are … not!
You've got a swell chance to make this [baseball] team, you have, not! Third base is my job, Freshie. Why, you tow-head, you couldn't play marbles. You butter-finger, can't you stop anything?1911 March, Zane Grey, “Out on the Field”, in The Young Pitcher, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 64:
"See?" "Uh-huh! Clear and lucid to the point of limpidity - 'not."1949, E.E 'Doc' Smith, chapter XIV, in Skylark of Valeron, London: Panther, published 1974, page 134:
After Seaworld it was down to Tijuana in Mexico. Charming place - not.1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 42:
not
noun
Etymology From Middle English not, nat, a variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), shortening of nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht, corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
1
An instance of using the word “not”; a negation or denial.
The children are taught to be afraid of winter, of war, of death, of hard times, of disease, of examinations. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that children so seldom find the conversation of their elders uplifting. It is full of don’ts, buts and nots.1922 March 4, “Fed on Fear Too Much”, in The Pathfinder, volume 29, number 1470, Washington, D.C.: Pathfinder Publishing Company, page 33:
2
Alternative letter-case form of NOT (“unary operation on logical values that changes true to false, and false to true”).
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences A unary operation on logical values that changes true to false, and false to true.
Notice that the NOT symbol is simply a BUF symbol followed by a bubble. The bubble represents logical inversion and is the actual NOT gate. Anytime you see a bubble attached to a gate pin, you can detach it from the pin and insert a separate NOT gate in its place without affecting the resulting logic.2022 August 4, William Bahn, “Boolean Algebra Laws—Delving Into Boolean Identities”, in All About Circuits: