US /ˈmʌs.n̩t/ UK /ˈmʌsnt/
contraction

Meanings

  1. 1
    contraction

    a contraction of must not, used to express prohibition or a strong negative necessity

    You mustn't open the door until the train stops.

  2. 2
    contraction

    used to express a strong negative conclusion or expectation

    She mustn't have heard the warning.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 contraction · a contraction of must not,... must not
2 contraction · used to express a strong... must not
Opposites
Word family
Related forms mustnot

Etymology

A contraction of must + not. The ending -n't is a reduced form of not, while rapid speech commonly simplifies the consonant cluster so the t of must is weak or absent.

Topics

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