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“Know” or “No”

know / no are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

know n·OW

  • nounthe fact of being aware of information that is known to few people.
  • verbbe cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about.
  • verbknow how to do or perform something.
  • verbbe aware of the truth of something; have a belief or faith in something; regard as true beyond any doubt.
  • verbbe familiar or acquainted with a person or an object.
  • verbhave firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations.
  • verbhave fixed in the mind.
  • verbknow the nature or character of.
  • verbbe able to distinguish, recognize as being different.
  • verbperceive as familiar.

no n·OW

  • nouna negative.
  • adjectivequantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
  • adverbreferring to the degree to which a certain quality is present.
  • adverbnot in any degree or manner; not at all.
  • adverbused to express refusal or denial or disagreement etc or especially to emphasize a negative statement.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“know”

  • She did not know her place; she forthrightly spoke…
  • …lost his job and doesn't know how to tell Cora.
  • …of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life,…
  • But what Tsurugi did not know was that Cuervo sold his…
  • …(pre-selected), as the gearbox doesn't know whether the driver wants to…
  • …of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)…
  • …instead of playing I Don't Know from Live in Salt Lake…
  • …to those who wish to know her.
  • …for us to get to know the player better.
  • …of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life…

“no”

  • …government for consultation, ACPO had no powers of its own, nor…
  • …median which offers little to no protection for crossover incidents.
  • No loss of torque through the…
  • The South African government does not have a reciprocal agreement with…
  • The student can fail no more than the equivalent of…
  • In 2010 there was no play because of official budget…
  • …had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.5% were
  • …Nacion, Rep. de Panama, orden no.
  • …currently an underpowered cloverleaf with no collector–distributor lanes, a relic of…
  • …that in contrast to Khurasan no native city there welcomed the…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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