What does “never” mean?
- 1
adverbnot at any time
I’ve never been to Japan.
- 2
adverbused to make a negative statement stronger
Never mind, it’s not important.
Never at a glance
- Part of speech
- adverb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈnɛvər/ · NEV-er
How to use “never” correctly
Don’t use “not” with “never”: “I never eat meat,” not “I don’t never eat meat.” It goes before the main verb but after “be.”
Common phrases with “never”
- never mind
- never again
- better late than never
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Idioms with “never”
- Better late than never: It is better to do something late than not to do it at all.
“never” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- again adverbA1one more time; another time
- ago adverbA1before now; used to say how far back in the past something happened
- always adverbA1at all times or every time
- later adverbA1at a time in the future or after the time you are talking about
- now adverbA1at the present time
- often adverbA1many times or in many situations
- PM adverbA1after midday; used after a time between 12 noon and midnight
- quickly adverbA1fast, or after only a short time