ain't

Meanings

1. 1
   contraction

   nonstandard: am not, is not, or are not

   I ain't ready to leave yet.

2. 2
   contraction

   nonstandard: has not or have not

   She ain't heard the news yet.

Developed from earlier an't, originally a contraction of am not and are not, and attested in the early eighteenth century. It later broadened to is not, has not, and have not. Once used across social levels, ain't became strongly stigmatized as nonstandard during the nineteenth century.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary