don't
/doʊnt/verb, interjection, noun
don't is spelled D-O-N-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1,585 times per million words in written English, the 71st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, don't means “Do not (negative auxiliary)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in don't?
| Letters | 4: D-O-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1,585 times per million words; the 71st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is don't?
Don't appears 1,585 times per million words in written English, the 71st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce don't?
- UK /dəʊnt/
- UK [dəʊ̯nt̚]
- US /doʊnt/
Don't has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-don't.wav, En-us-don't.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with don't
Also written: don.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with don't?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as don't from its last stressed vowel (/oʊnt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of don't
- don'ts plural
- don't's plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does don't mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
Do not (negative auxiliary).
Don't you think mom's awfully busy today?
- 2
nonstandardDoes not.
I sure hope the road don’t come to own me.
- 3
Used before an emphatic negative subject.
Don’t nobody care.
interjection
- 1
Stop!
noun
- 1
Chiefly in dos and don'ts: something that must or should not be done.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Don't in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense do not:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does don't come from?
From do + -n't. Depending on dialect, its use in the third-person singular may be from elision (in these dialects does is used when not in the negative) or from not using -s to mark the third-person singular at all.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).