cannot.' name='description'> can't - definition and meaning

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • Contraction of cannot.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • possessive noun A colloquial contraction of cannot.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • possessive noun A colloquial contraction for can not.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • phrase cannot; is unable to; does not have the ability to
  • phrase is forbidden to; is not permitted to

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

can +‎ -n't, since 1706 or earlier.

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Examples

  • Women like my grandmother, a Latina mom who never understood the word can't, are changing the face of what motherhood looks like in this country.

    Rene Alegria: Dollars and Dreamers: How Latino Immigrants Can Save Main Street Rene Alegria 2011

  • Women like my grandmother, a Latina mom who never understood the word can't, are changing the face of what motherhood looks like in this country.

    Rene Alegria: Dollars and Dreamers: How Latino Immigrants Can Save Main Street Rene Alegria 2011

  • The phrase "can't say with certitude" will certainly lead many to believe that the photo is indeed of the congressman.

    Forbes.com: News Mark Pasetsky 2011

  • The phrase "can't say with certitude" will certainly lead many to believe that the photo is indeed of the congressman.

    Forbes.com: News Mark Pasetsky 2011

  • Erase the word "can't" from your self-talk: it's not that you "can't" exercise or eat right, but that you "won't."

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • And P.T. Barnum, in his "Struggles and Triumphs: Forty Years' Recollections," chastises his manager and son-in-law for being less than enthusiastic about some of Barnum's plans with "have I not told you often enough, the word can't is not in my dictionary?"

    Boston.com Top Stories 2011

  • I heard there was a permanent ban on the word "can't."

    NYT > Home Page By ANDREW GOLDMAN 2012

  • "It's not as if there are not legitimate players...but the legitimate players long-term can't compete" unless investigators "get the fraud out on the table and create a level playing field," Mr. Vance said.

    Crackdown Targets Tests on Concrete Michael Rothfeld 2011

  • House Speaker John Boehner R., Ohio has said the idea can't pass the House, and it isn't clear Mr. Reid's flirtation has support within his party.

    McConnell Changes the Terms Janet Hook 2011

  • Sometimes, calls outside the region can get through, while local calls can't.

    Child health experts' tips for quake's emotional aftershocks 2011

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