# don't

> English word · Verb · IPA /dəʊnt/ · frequency rank #68

## Definitions
1. do not (negative auxiliary).
2. does not.
3. Used before an emphatic negative subject.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **dot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dot)
- **done** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-done)
- **dont** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dont)
- **dong** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dong)
- **Dons** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dons)
- **dona** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dona)
- **dost** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-dost)
- **doubt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-doubt)
- **donor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donor)
- **donna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donna)
- **donut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donut)
- **Donny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donny)
- **Donne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donne)
- **donate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-donate)
- **don'ts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-t-vs-don-ts)
- **don** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-vs-don-t)
- **dent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dent-vs-don-t)
- **do's** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/do-s-vs-don-t)
- **dint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dint-vs-don-t)
- **dog's** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dog-s-vs-don-t)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ddon't`, `dno't`, `do'nt`, `don'tt`, `donn't`, `dont'`, `odn't`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/don-t