From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnotnot /nɒt $ nɑːt/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb 1 NOTused to make a word, statement, or question negative Most of the stores do not open until 10 am. She’s not a very nice person. You were wrong not to inform the police. ‘Can we go to the park?’ ‘No, not today, dear.’not at all/not ... at all (=used to emphasize what you are saying) The changes were not at all surprising. I do not like his attitude at all. → no1, n't2 NOTused in order to make a word or expression have the opposite meaning Edinburgh isn’t far now. The food is not very good there.not a lot/much/many etc (=only a few, only a little etc) Not much is known about the disease. Not many people have read the report. Most of the hotels are not that cheap (=they are fairly expensive).3 NOTused instead of a whole phrase to mean the opposite of what has been mentioned before it No one knows if the story is true or not. I hope to see you tomorrow, but if not, leave me a message. ‘Is Mark still sick?’ ‘I hope not.’ → so1(4)4 → not only5 → not a/not one6 → not that ...7 → not at all8 → not the sharpest tool in the box/shed9 → – not! → not half at half3(6), → not to say at say1(43)GRAMMAR: Negatives• Don’t use another negative word such as ‘no’, ‘nothing’, or ‘nobody’ after not. Use any, anything, anybody etc. You say: They do not have any money.I didn’t know anybody. ✗Don’t say: They do not have no money. | I didn’t know nobody.• Not goes before ‘to’ in an infinitive verb. You say: I try not to make mistakes. ✗Don’t say: I try to not make mistakes.
Examples from the Corpus
not• "Are you worried about your exams?'' "No, I'm not.''• I don't smoke.• It's not a computer -- it's a word processor.• It's not boring -- it's really interesting.• There was nothing, not even that hotel sitting room, to compare.• We're not going on holiday this year.• Is anyone not going to the party?• No service charge and tipping is not necessary.• Most of the stores do not open until 10 a.m.• Unlike nearly every microlight aircraft I've flown to date, the power plant up front was not out of the Rotax stable.• David's not stupid. He knows what's going on.• I am not surprised when he continues in an upward direction.• The speciality, not to be missed, is fresh fillet of haddock.• Despite various friends trying out the route and checking the text, the book is not up to date.• Let's hope it is not wasted.• This period of history is not well documented.• These came into force January 1989 but they are still not widely known.not very• We all know how bitterly cold it is now outside; it is not very cold here, of course.• The freezer's not very cold - is it broken?• Cultivation: This plant is not very demanding as to its growing medium, and therefore can even be grown in gravel.• Other kids were not very good either, and we all inadvertently inhaled the pool again and again.• The President was not very happy that the information had been leaked to the press.• This type of definition is not very helpful for an understanding of evaluation.• There's not very many buses.• I wouldn't recommend the fish - it's not very nice.• She did not very often tell this particular story.• I still go running, but not very often.• I had missed seven putts of less than four feet, and my ball-striking was not very precise, either.• I felt very guilty about it but this guilt was not very productive.or not• I don't know whether she does or not.• I stared, not knowing whether to believe him or not.• Nobody really cares if Morrissey is gay or not.• Whether or not a fourth Odyssey will materialize depends on factors beyond my control.• For instance, how is one to decide whether or not an individual makes undesirable choices when better options are available?• The reactions shown on the metabolic chart would proceed very slowly, or not at all, in the absence of enzymes.• Whether we like it or not, clothes make a statement about the person who is wearing them.• As schools get Internet access, they become responsible, like it or not, for keeping students off raunchy Web sites.Origin not (1300-1400) nought 