cannot

English

Etymology

can +‎ not

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkænɒt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæ(n.)nɑt/, /ˈkɛ(n.)nɑt/, /kə(n)ˈnɑt/, /kɪ(n)ˈnɑt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /kəˈnɑt/
• Hyphenation: can‧not
• Rhymes: -ɒt

Verb

cannot

1. Can not (am/is/are unable to).

   I cannot open the window. It is stuck.‎

2. Am/are/is forbidden or not permitted to
   • 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 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.

   • 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

     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.

   You cannot enter the hall without a ticket.‎

Usage notes

Both the one-word form cannot and the two-word form can not are acceptable, but cannot is more common (in the Oxford English Corpus, three times as common). The two-word form is better only in a construction in which not is part of a set phrase, such as 'not only... but (also)': Paul can not only sing well, but also paint brilliantly.

Synonyms

• can't

Translations

cannot — See also translations at : can,‎ not

American Sign Language: 1@NearSternumhigh-PalmForward-1@Chesthigh-TipAcross FastContact 1@FromBackFinger-PalmDown-1@Chesthigh-TipAcross Bulgarian: не може ‎(ne može) Chinese: Mandarin: 不會 (zh), 不会 (zh) ‎(bù huì), 不要 (zh) ‎(bù yào), 不能 (zh) ‎(bù néng), 不行 (zh) ‎(bù xíng), (negative verb complements used) e.g.: ...不了 (zh) ‎(...bùliǎo) Dutch: niet kunnen Finnish: ei osaa, ei voi French: ne pas pouvoir German: nicht können Italian: non potere Japanese: ...できない ‎(...dekinai) (unable); ...駄目である (ja) ‎(...だめである, ...dame dearu), ...してはならない ‎(...shite-wa naranai), ...してはいけない ‎(...shite-wa ikenai) (not allowed); (potential negative forms used) e.g.: 読めない ‎(yomenai),　 食べられない ‎(taberarenai) / 食べれない ‎(taberenai)

Khmer: មិនអាច ‎(mɨn aac) Korean: 못 (ko) ‎(mot), ...수 없다 ‎(...su eopda), 못하다 (ko) ‎(mothada) Latin: non posse, nescio, nequeo, (more a pronome in indirect object) prohibetur, (more a pronome in indirect object)) interdicitur, (more a pronome in indirect object)) vetatur, (more a pronome in indirect object) non licet Latvian: nevar, nespēj Norwegian: Bokmål: kan ikke Old Turkic: 𐰆𐰢𐰀 ‎(uma-) Pitcairn-Norfolk: kaa Polish: nie móc Portuguese: não pode Russian: не мо́чь ‎(ne móčʹ) (e.g. я не могу - I can't), нельзя́ (ru) ‎(nelʹzjá) (not allowed) Spanish: no poder Thai: ...ไม่ไม่ ‎(...mâi dâai), ...ไม่เป็น ‎(...mâi bpen) Turkish: -ama, -eme Vietnamese: có thể không Welsh: methu (cy), ffili

Noun

cannot ‎(plural cannots)

1. Something that cannot be done.

   the cans and cannots

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: course · side · small · #223: cannot · father · nor · moment

Anagrams

• Canton, canton, noncat

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Norman

Noun

cannot m ‎(plural cannots)

1. (Jersey) duckling

Derived terms

• cannoter ‎(“to walk like a duck”)