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 (la), (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: ...ไม่ได้ (...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

Anagrams

• Canton, Conant, canton, noncat

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Norman

Noun

cannot m (plural cannots)

1. (Jersey) duckling

Derived terms

• cannoter (“to walk like a duck”)