Non-stop or nonstop?
non-stop is an adjective meaning “Alternative form of nonstop”; nonstop is an adjective meaning “Without stopping; without interruption or break”. non-stop is written with a hyphen and nonstop as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between non-stop and nonstop?
| non-stop | nonstop | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, adverb, noun | adjective, adverb, noun |
| Meaning | Alternative form of nonstop | Without stopping; without interruption or break Describing a point mutation within a stop codon that causes the continued translation of an mRNA strand A nonstop journey, especially a nonstop flight |
| Example | none recorded | There's a nonstop flight to Mauritius, but I'm not sitting on the same plane for thirteen hours |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˌnɒnˈstɒp/ /ˌnɑnˈstɑp/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 2.3 times per million words |
Sources: non-stop and nonstop in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of non-stop and nonstop
non-stop
- 1
Alternative form of nonstop
- 2
Alternative form of nonstop
- 3
Alternative form of nonstop
nonstop
- 1
Without stopping; without interruption or break
There's a nonstop flight to Mauritius, but I'm not sitting on the same plane for thirteen hours
- 2
Without stopping; without interruption or break
He worked nonstop for fourteen hours yesterday, just so he could get today off
- 3
A nonstop journey, especially a nonstop flight
- 4
Describing a point mutation within a stop codon that causes the continued translation of an mRNA strand
- 5
A convenience store in parts of Europe, open 24 hours a day
- 6
A linguistic sound that is not a stop; a continuant
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, non-stop or nonstop?
non-stop is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; nonstop 2.3 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).