cannot

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cannot

/ˈkænɒt/ UK
/ˌkænˈɒt/ UK
/ˈkænɑt/ US
[ˈkʰænɑt] US
/ˈkeə̯nɑt/ US
[ˈkʰeə̯nɑt] US
/ˈkɛə̯nɑt/ US
[ˈkʰɛə̯nɑt] US
/kəˈnɑt/ US
[kʰəˈnɑt] US

Rhymes with -ɒt

Where it comes from

From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.

verb cannet · cannit · can not

Can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.). I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
Be forbidden or not permitted to. 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

Similar: can't

noun cannots · cannet · cannit · can not

Something that cannot be done. the cans and cannots
A person who cannot do (something).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: can not, can't, ca'n't, cann't, couldn't, cannot but, cannott, can't but, cannot help, can't help, cou'dn't, can't even, can't seem, can't stand, shouldn't, nill

verb

Similar: can't

Translations

Every language

verb cannot — see also can, not

Español	no poder
한국어	못 mot, -을 수 없다 -eul su eopda, 못하다 mothada
日本語	...できない ...dekinai, ...駄目である ...dame de aru, ...してはならない ...shite wa naranai, ...してはいけない ...shite wa ikenai, e.g.: 読めない yomenai, 食べられない taberarenai
中文	不會 /不会 bù huì, 不要 bù yào, 不能 bù néng, 不行 bù xíng, e.g.: ...不了 ...bùliǎo
Português	não pode
Français	ne pas pouvoir
Deutsch	nicht können
Italiano	non potere
Ελληνικά	δεν μπορώ den boró
Русский	не мо́чь ne móčʹ, нельзя́ nelʹzjá
Tiếng Việt	có thể không
العربية	عَجَزَ ʕajaza, لَا يَسْتَطِيع lā yastaṭīʕ

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MLA

"cannot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cannot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cannot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cannot

Chicago

"cannot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cannot.

BibTeX

@misc{cannot_2026,
  title = {cannot},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cannot},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}