cannot

[ kan-ot, ka-not, kuh- ]

verb

1. a form of can not.

cannot

/ kæˈnɒt; ˈkænɒt /

verb

1. an auxiliary verb expressing incapacity, inability, withholding permission, etc; can not

Spelling Note

Cannot is sometimes also spelled can not. The one-word spelling is by far the more common: Interest rates simply cannot continue at their present level. The contraction can't is most common in speech and informal writing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cannot¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cannot but, have no alternative but to:

   We cannot but choose otherwise.

More idioms and phrases containing cannot

see under can't .

Example Sentences

In cases where the customer cannot be identified, Ofgem said E.On will pay into the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme - a charity which supports vulnerable energy customers.

From BBC

“These fundamental issues remain unaddressed and therefore the council cannot support this action and will be making representations at ministerial level.”

From BBC

We cannot be sure of Logan Paul’s intentions when he released his clip.

From BBC

This means that scientists cannot simply use an isolated pre-fusion F protein as a vaccine -- its structure would change too quickly for the immune system to react.

From Science Daily

According to basic ecological theory, two different species cannot exist on the same limiting resource -- the better competitor is expected to drive the other to extinction.

From Science Daily