can't

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

Cannot (negative auxiliary); be unable to; not have the ability to (whether due to lacking relevant strength or skill or knowledge or supplies, or due to logical impossibility, etc).
To be forbidden to; to be not permitted to.
To be unwilling to; to not have the desire of; to don’t want to.

Pronunciation

/kɑːnt/ [kʰɑːnt] En-uk-can't.ogg /käːnt/ [ˈkʰäːnt] /kɐːnt/ [ˈkʰɐ̞ːnt] en-au-can't.ogg /kaːɳʈ/ [kaːɳʈ] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Halum Halum-can't.wav /ˈkaːnt/ [ˈkʰaːnt] /ˈkænt/ [ˈkʰænt] En-us-can't.ogg /ˈkeə̯nt/ [ˈkʰeə̯nt] /ˈkɛə̯nt/ [ˈkʰɛə̯nt] /känt/ [ˈk(ʰ)änt] /ˈkeɪnt/ [ˈkʰẽɪ̃nt] ~ [ˈkʰẽɪ̃n(ʔ)] en-US-southern-dialectical-can't.ogg

Word forms

can't ca'n't cain't

Etymology

From can + -n't, since 1706 or earlier.

Antonyms

Derived words

Republicant you can't say fairer than that

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary