What is the definition of not?

Answer 1

not |nät|adverb1 (also n't joined to a preceding verb) used with an auxiliary verb or "be" to form the negative : he would not say | she isn't there | didn't you tell me?• used in some constructions with other verbs : [with infinitive ] he has been warned not to touch | the pain of not knowing| she not only wrote the text but alsoresearched the photographs.2 used as a short substitute for a negative clause : maybe I'll regret it, but I hope not |"Don't you keep in touch?" "I'm afraid not." | they wouldn't know if I was telling the truth or not.3 used to express the negative of other words : not a single attempt was made |treating the symptoms and not the cause | "How was it?" "Not so bad."• used with a quantifier to exclude a person or part of a group : not all the poems are serious.• less than (used to indicate a surprisingly small quantity) : the brakes went on not ten feet from him.4 used in understatements to suggest that the opposite of a following word or phrase is true : the not too distant future | not a million miles away.• informal humorous following and emphatically negating a statement : that sounds like quality entertainment-not. [ORIGIN: a usage popularized by the filmWayne's World.]