shan't

Midlands, Northern England, UK/ʃɑːnt/Scotland/ʃant/US/ʃænt/Australia, New Zealand/ʃɐːnt/

A form of shall — Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.

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Meanings

verb

alternative shalln't · alternative sha'n't

  1. CanadaIrelandNew ZealandUKabbreviationarchaiccolloquialcontractiondatedhumorousContraction of shall + not (negative auxiliary).

    Shall I or shan't I?

    2 more examples

    I shan't be coming back after the way you've treated me today.

    That's not a threat, sir, for they have played fair with me, and I sha'n't sacrifice a penny of their money—unless they force me to do so. But—I'm in control. I'm sitting pretty. They can't unseat me, and I warn them not to try.

    1922, Rex [Ellingwood] Beach, “chapter XXIV”, in Flowing Gold, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, by arrangement with Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 290

Origin

From shall + -n't, contraction of shalln't or shall + not, historically via shannot.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with shan't

plantgrantantaunttransplantrantpantimplantchantgallantbrantextantscantBrabantenchantlevantsupplantvivantpiquantreplantdescantrecantdecantcourante
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

shan't. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shan't

MLA

“shan't.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shan't. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shan't,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shan't.

Source: shan't on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.