Meanings
- informalNo.
But listen Willis You do understand, don't you? Naw, I don't think so. Larry?
1986, Melvin Dixon, “The Boy with Beer”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 273 more examples
"Naw, no trouble. Just pulled off the road for about ten minutes, maybe, when a couple of Nip fighters banked overhead. They were after something or other." "Is that right?" Mac replied.
2003, Anton F. Bilek, Tony Bilek, Gene O'Connell, No Uncle Sam: The Forgotten of Bataan, Kent State University Press, →ISBN, page 31'Naw, hen, sorry. Ye're too young for us. Come back when you've got a couple mair years under yer belt, eh?'
2012, Alex Gray, A Pound of Flesh“Naw, no thanks. I'll catch you next time.” “Come on, Shane. All you do is work, work, and work. You need to have a little fun, don't you?” “Right now, I'm having a lot of fun. Trust me.” “Do you have company?” “No, I'm painting.”
2012 November 1, Brenda Hampton, Naughty No More, Urban Books, →ISBN - Jamaicapronunciation spellingPronunciation spelling of not.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old Englishnā“no, never”
- Middle Englishna
- Scotsnaw
- Englishnaw
In Scottish use, from Scots naw, naa, na, from Middle English na, from Old English nā (“no, never”). More generally, a colloquial, unarticulated form of no; compare nah. More at no.
More words from Scots, Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with naw
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
naw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/naw
“naw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/naw. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “naw,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/naw.
Source: naw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.