I. no 1 S1 W1 /nəʊ $ noʊ/ BrE AmE adverb
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: na , from ne 'not' + a 'always' ]
1 . used to give a negative reply to a question, offer, or request OPP yes :
‘Are you Italian?’ ‘No, I’m Spanish.’
‘Do you want any more?’ ‘No thanks.’
‘Could you help me write this?’ ‘No, sorry, I haven’t got time at the moment.’
He wanted to take me to a disco but I said no.
Sixty percent of people voted no.
If you’re asking whether I feel the same way about her, the answer is no.
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SPOKEN PHRASES
2 . used to say that you disagree with a statement:
‘You’re always complaining about work.’ ‘No, I’m not!’
3 . used to say that you agree with a negative statement:
‘They shouldn’t drive so fast.’ ‘No, it’s really dangerous.’
4 . used to tell someone not to do something:
No, Jimmy, don’t touch that switch.
5 . used to show that you are shocked, surprised, annoyed, or disappointed by what someone has just told you, or by what has just happened:
‘She’s nearly fifty.’ ‘No, you’re kidding!’
Oh no, I’ve lost my wallet!
6 . used to correct what you have just said:
He’s the director, no, the assistant director, of the company.
7 . won’t take no for an answer if someone won’t take no for an answer, they are determined that you should agree to do something:
He insists on taking us all out to dinner and he won’t take no for an answer.
8 . used before ↑ comparative s to mean ‘not even a small amount’:
I’ll pay you $75 and no more.
You’re no better than the rest of them.
⇨ no longer at ↑ long 2 (7)
II. no 2 S1 W1 BrE AmE determiner
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Origin: none ]
1 . not one or not any:
There’s no food left in the fridge.
No trains will be affected by this incident.
a house with no central heating
There’s no excuse for that kind of behaviour.
2 . used on signs to say that something is not allowed:
No parking
No smoking
3 . in no time informal very soon or very quickly:
We’ll be home in no time.
4 . there’s no doing something spoken used to emphasize that it is not possible to do something:
There’s no knowing what this lunatic will do next.
There is no denying the suffering of these families (=they are definitely suffering) .
5 . used to emphasize that the opposite of a particular description is true:
That girl’s no fool (=she is intelligent) .
Larry’s no friend of mine.
If he has to do it all himself, it will be no bad thing (=a good thing) .
a question of no great importance
III. no 3 BrE AmE noun ( plural noes )
1 . [singular] a negative answer or decision:
The answer was a definite no.
2 . [countable] a vote against a proposal in parliament